Change
by Kiley S. Snape
Summary: The second installment of Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong's tale following "Not What I Wanted..." The conclusion of Harmonic Convergence brought about a change not only for the world, but also my family. This would challenge everything I had believed.
1. Chapter 1

Change

by Kiley S. Snape

"Where is Chief Beifong?!" I demanded over the fray of crumbling buildings and malicious vines.

"With the president!" the officer answered behind clenched teeth.

I ran down the street, dodging the vines, and headed downtown. I slammed my foot against the street, but that resulted in a heady cloak of nausea to fall about me. It was like a watching a mover at a too-fast pace, too much for such human eyes to behold. _A building crumbling to ruin; people flooding the street; Lin- nowhere to be found_. Biting back the panic that threatened to overrun my wild mind, I pressed on.

I was shoved to the ground by a man desperate to evade the onslaught of vines. I slowly lifted my head, and tried to shake off the unpleasant ringing in my ears. The air grew still, thick and heavy with dust, and I squinted at two figures hurtling themselves off the rooftop of a nearby building.

"Hold on!"

My eyes widened and I scrambled to my feet. A dark spirit had set its rage upon Lin and President Raiko. My mother shoved the leader of Republic City ahead of her, and then turned on her heel to hold off the dark spirit. Lin dropped low to the ground, and sent a rolling wave of earth to delay the spirit. The latter dodged the attack, almost becoming smoke, its shadowy body dragging behind it as it advanced. Lin catapulted into a back hand spring to evade her opponent, but the spirit was cunning. Just as Lin relied solely on her hands, the creature struck- Lin fell on her back, and I heard her shuddering exhale as the wind was taken from her.

The spirit stretched out its wisp-like arms and held Lin fast. The red marks churned and turned into a darker shade as it hovered over her. Lin snarled and surged against it, trying to shove the spirit off her. But she remained fixed.

"Get away from her!" I barked, and punched the earth to unsettle the both of them. I rose to my feet as the spirit broke away from Lin to regard me, idly aware of the blood that ran down the side of my face. "That's my mother," I explained, slowly outstretching my upward palms, "She does not mean to hurt you- she is afraid, for you are different." The spirit cocked its head in what I concluded to be intrigue, and its fiery eyes slightly cooled.

"Kailyn! You shouldn't be out here!" Lin cried.

The spirit wheeled about, eyes once more ablaze, and raised it clawed hand to strike her down. My mind scrambled to find a way to cease the blow- to keep my mother safe. I recalled a scroll I had spent days pouring over to decipher the runes, and clumsily mimicked it bending form. It was as ancient as the Avatar Cycle, it seemed.

As smooth as liquid glass, I dragged my askew hands in a slow circuit, and then set them apart to rotate in opposing directions. I dropped low to the ground, my blood on fire with a strange energy, and smoky tendrils of loose earth-closely saturated dust particles- formed a double helix around the spirit. I brought my open, lax hands down in a line. I then brought my hands back up to come to a halt above my head. A celestial light transformed the spirit, its body glittered gold and its marking shone blue. I bowed to the vanished spirit as it scintillated away into the nothingness.

I crumbled to my knees at Lin's side, uncaring that the cracked road split my trousers and cut my knees. "Mum, are you okay?" I panted, frantically running trembling hands over her.

"Yes, yes!" she huffed, gently pushing my hands away, "You are not as lucky. Grounded- two weeks!"

"Ach, Mum!" I groaned, "I just saved your life!"

"By being an idiot. You disobeyed me, Kailyn, you could have been killed."

"And what if I hadn't been an idiot, hm?" I argued, "What if you had died, Mum? You're all I have…"

Lin grunted and roughly took me into her arms. The warm metal plate around her shoulder was pressed unpleasantly into my cheek, but I did not care. I wrapped my arms about her neck, and hid my burning eyes behind closed lids. I was terrified- terrified of the haunting possibility of losing my mother.

"You're still grounded," she assured me.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on, Beifong, let Kailyn out!"

"No- now go away before I decide to use you for cadet practice," Lin growled, and then slammed the door. "That boy is a menace," she grumbled as she stalked into my room. She dropped onto the foot of my bed, and watched me make various shapes out of a lump of metal. "Kid, you have to go out of this place sometime."

"Do you ever look at someone, and just hurt because you know that they were never meant to be yours?" I asked suddenly, voice incredibly soft.

"Yes."

"What are you to do?" I wondered.

"Nothing to be done, but you stick by them, Kailyn… Those vines are becoming a right menace."

"I am sure Korra will find a solution beneficial to both parties," I assured her, and placed the metal nugget on the small bedside table.

"Already a politician."

"What can you expect? It's in my blood!"

A knock sounded from the front door, and I rose to answer it.

"If it's that boy again," Lin warned darkly.

"General Iroh," I greeted lamely, eyes wide in surprise.

"Miss Beifong," he said in turn, giving me a polite bow, "How are you?"

"All things considered- well," I answered with a faint smile, "I am glad to see you came out unscathed from Harmonic Convergence."

"Erm, thank you."

"Is there something I can do for you?"

"President Raiko sent me to deliver a message- he would like you to have a statement prepared for the press conference tomorrow."

"I didn't know it was a general's job to be a glorified messenger boy these days," Lin remarked as she walked by to go into the kitchen.

"Thank you, General Iroh," I said with flushed cheeks, and stepped to the side, "Would you like to come in for some tea?"

"I can't- but perhaps… good day, Miss Beifong." In further collected fluster, he departed smoothly.

"Are you going to stand in the doorway for the rest of the day?" Lin shot slyly, "Don't let any of those spirits in- it's bad enough they clutter the corridor."

"Gee, Mum, so polite," I groaned.

"There's a tree growing through my office!" Raiko protested petulantly, "You don't think I am doing everything I can to get rid of it?!"

Lin and I shared a look at the whinging of the president, who seemed eager to find a scapegoat for his unsavory poll numbers. Raiko looked back at me, and I knew that was my cue. I calmly made my way to the podium and softly cleared my throat as I took place in front of the microphone. "My name, for the few who did not know my father, is Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong. I know much has happened in the past year and a half, but if my father taught me anything- it would be to unite. No one is personally at fault, citizens of Republic City- particularly Avatar Korra or President Raiko. I know change can be hard- especially when no immediate results are shown, but please, have patience. This isn't a race; we are making history.

"Current times have differed greatly from the days of our ancestors, but we should remember a distant part of that past. We once had a deep connection to the Spirit World- nonbenders and benders alike. I am not saying that we must let every spirit that wonders about into our homes, but we must be more compassionate to each other. Just as Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang brought about a time of peace, we now have an opportunity to do the same. It was not long ago that Amon threatened to wipe out a heritage in the name of equality- and many of you agreed with him. But does that mean we have the right to condemn another people, who are so different than us? Do we have the right to condemn the spirits- or they us? Please, give Avatar Korra and the president patience…both are working for a resolution beneficial to both our kinds. Thank you." I bowed my head in farewell, and stepped away from the podium, a proud smile curved my lips when the shouts of the reporters dimmed and only camera flashes sounded.

"Miss Hsiao," President Raiko growled, "That was not-"

"You told her to prepare a statement, and she did just that- a fine one, too," Lin interjected coldly, stepping between the president and me, "It's your own fault yours was found lacking."

"Please, don't argue, Korra has just arrived," I beseeched.

Korra landed, and set her glider back into a staff. She gave me a tense smile before she narrowed her eyes upon the president.

"Kailyn," Lin murmured, "That took guts, kid. Raiko will have you pushin' papers for at least a week."

"I know, but we both know it needed to be said."

"The Avatar has put us all in a very difficult position, but my administrat-" Raiko began to announce hastily, and the reporters surged against the barrier.

"-Oh. I'm sorry," Korra simpered heatedly, "Did I put you in a difficult position by fighting the giant force of pure evil that was going to destroy the whole world?" Korra took the president by the jowled chin, and proceeded to bob his head up and down. "Maybe your administration could have handled that," she finished.

Lin inserted herself between the two leaders to prevent them from arguing further in front of the now ravenous press. "No more questions!" she announced. President Raiko glared at her and Korra, and stalked back into his office; Lin and I followed him inside.

"Chief, I would appreciate in future that you refrain from interfering in matters which you are emotionally compromised," the president instructed curtly.

Lin gave him a cold look of incredulity before she schooled her features. "Good day, President Raiko," she murmured, "See you around, kid."

"Lin Beifong has never been accused of not doing her job properly, and we both know it," I remarked once my mother had left the office, "Any quarrel you may have with me will stay like that, sir. Lin Beifong will never be found emotionally compromised."

"Careful, Miss Hsiao, you are treading on thin ice as it is."

I bit back the Lin-like growl that desperately wished to sound, and ground out, "Yes, sir."


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you coming with me to Air Temple Island?"

"Yeah," I grunted, punching the sparring dummy one more time before I wiped the sweat off my brow with the rag drape along the tops of my shoulders. I pulled on fresh shirt and hopped into Lin's car.

"Raiko give you any trouble after I left?"

"You mean besides calling me Miss Hsiao to further exacerbate me? No, nothing I couldn't handle. And don't give him anything to accuse you of it being time to step down as chief, okay?"

"I might be emotionally compromised," she teased tersely.

At that we shared a curt, wry laugh and the rest of the drive to the ferry passed in an easy silence. A silver spirit flecked with green landed on my shoulder as we boarded the boat. "Hello there," I greeted warmly. The spirit trilled happily and then soared away. "I don't understand the people's dislike of the spirits…"

"People tend to get stuck in their ways," Lin mused, "Takes a nice bit of rock to the head to snap them out of it."

"Is Lin Beifong waiting for the opportunity to do so?" I laughed.

"Have been for years," Lin grunted.

As we walked up to the group standing out in the courtyard, Mako fell into step with us, and Bumi exclaimed indignantly to Kya, "And you didn't think to tell me?!"

"Invisible spirit attack?" Lin inquired as we watched Bumi continue to flail his arms.

"Lin, you won't believe this. Bumi just started airbending," Tenzin announced.

"I'm afraid he's not the only one," Lin explained after sharing a look with Mako.

"What?" Tenzin and Korra cried.

"I got a call last night," Mako explained, "About a guy who just started _airbending_ out of nowhere."

Tenzin looked invigorated. "You mean there's another one? Where is he now?" he pressed.

Mako nervously rubbed the back of his neck, and explained, "He…He blew a door down on me and got away. We got an all-points bulletin out on him right now."

"I'll help," I announced as Mako and my mother made to depart.

"Wait," Korra called after them, "We'll help you look for him. Where should we start?"

"Oh, well- y'know," Mako stammered, "You should leave it to the police. It's…police business…y'know? It's, um…official."

"A fine officer, I know," Lin grunted to me as she brushed past.

"Kailyn," Asami said softly.

"Hey," I greeted her warmly, and hugged her.

"How is life as a Beifong?"

"Life as a Beifong," I remarked in good nature, "You probably think I am insane."

"You always were," Asami teased.

"You two ready?" Korra called out to us.

"This is so exciting! New airbenders in the city," Korra cheered, "I bet we can find that guy before Mako does." Korra's eyes widened as she caught Asami's tossed car keys, and she looked a little lost. "You know I'm not very good at this," she reminded Asami.

"Kailyn and I know how to drive- you're the Avatar, master of all the elements, you should know how to drive," Asami encouraged her as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "Besides, it's relaxing."

"You might regret it later," I teased her softly as I climbed into the back seat.

"Oh ha ha," Korra drawled, and started up the car.

I didn't think it was possible to get car sick from driving in a straight line, but the Avatar proved me wrong.

"Clutch! Clutch!" Asami exclaimed, voice strained, and Korra slammed on the brakes, "That's the brake. Let's try again. You ready?"

The car stuck behind us honked, and I looked back to see him gesticulating with a clenched fist. Korra turned to Asami, her jaw set, and saluted Asami. We shared a hearty bout of laughter as Korra restarted the stalled engine. The old man pulled his car slowly around ours with an amusing glare, and I shot him a broad grin.

"How long do you think talking to Mako is gonna be like pulling teeth?" Korra asked.

"About as long as it will take for Kailyn to be in the same room as Bolin without Beifong, and for Bolin to realise Kailyn was in love with him," Asami remarked.

"What happened between you and Bolin?" Korra wondered.

"Nothing," I grumbled emphatically, and shot the smug Asami a warning glare through the rearview mirror.

"You have barely talked to him since the Nuktuk finale," Asami noted, "Ever since you saw him kiss Ginger-"

"-I learned that I thought more about Bolin than he ever did me- given the fact that he was with two women in the past year. I learned the hard way that he clearly forgot about me," I rebuked coldly, and looked away from Asami.

"I know how that feels," Korra explained gently.

"Well, Mako has never been the most… 'in touch with his feelings' guy, but it'll get better- eventually," Asami explained, "And you and Bolin will work things out, Kailyn."

"So- when I was gone, did he tell you that we broke up?"

"Yeah...we all knew. Sorry," Asami admitted.

Korra blushed and murmured, "That's pretty embarrassing."

"Don't be, My mum would not stop talking about how you cleaved Mako's desk in half- if she were capable, I would dare say she was impressed!" I assured her.

"I need to tell you something," Asami said haltingly, "About that…and I should have told you this sooner, but…while you were gone…I kind of- kissed him. I'm sorry."

"No wonder he's so nervous around us!" Korra laughed.

"You're not mad?"

"No, I mean…I kissed Mako when he was going out with you, so-"

"You what?" Asami spat.

"I'm so sorry!" Korra yelped, "I thought you knew!"

"She does!" I chortled, "Believe me, Bolin could not keep that a secret for very long!"

"I knew a long time ago," Asami affirmed.

"Well, whatever happened with Mako, I'm glad it hasn't come between us. I've never had girlfriends to hang out with and talk to before…except for Naga. This is nice."

"I'm going to be sick," I groaned, feeling my face blanch.

"Oh please, Kailyn! Beifong couldn't have gotten you like her that fast!"

"No, really I am!" I argued, and threw my upper half over the side of Asami's car as a particular strong wave of nausea hit.

"Vine! Vine!" Asami yelled.

Korra once again slammed on the brakes and jerked the steering wheel to one side- only just missing the vines in the middle of the road. A plant spirit akin to a hedgehog phased into view from within the vines.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"What are you doing living in the middle of the road in the first place?!" Korra snapped.

"Korra," I protested feebly, "Don't."

"Don't ask me, Avatar! You made the world this way- we're just living in it!" the fruithog spirit retorted.

"Look," Korra sighed, "I don't have anything against spirits, but these vines are causing major problems all over the city!"

"Spirits, vines. We're all the same. Seems like the Avatar would know that," the spirit simpered, and walked off.

A strange light sparked in Korra's eyes as she sat back in her seat. I mulled over the spirit's words, trying to find the lead that had Korra so deep in thought.

"Korra, you okay?" Asami pressed.

"I think that spirit just gave me an idea how to get rid of the vines…but I'm going to need a lot of water- and Kailyn."

"Me?!"


	4. Chapter 4

Korra, Lin, Bolin, and I stood on the Silk Road Bridge as we eyed the building ensconced by vines. My brow furrowed at the magnitude Korra intended for us to clear away.

"I hope this works," Korra murmured to me before she turned to look at the press that had started to congregate behind us. "What are you guys doing here?" she demanded, eyes narrowed on President Raiko.

"I was alerted that you had a new plan to wipe out these noxious weeds. So, I thought you'd want everyone to be here to watch," Raiko announced.

"How generous," I remarked coolly, "These aren't some parasite that clutters up your bonsai gardens or coy ponds, President Raiko. These vines are spirits."

Before the president could utter his further displeasure, a reporter addressed Korra. "Avatar Korra," he began, oblivious to the aforementioned's great displeasure, "Do you really think-"

Korra shot out a hand to silence him. "No questions!" she ordered, "Just stand there. Silently!"

"Ready when you are," I murmured, cementing my feet to the stone work of the bridge to increase my connection to the earth.

Korra took a deep breath and entered the Avatar State; she bent the tell-tale spyres of water around the vines, and I did the same with the shadow tendrils of fine earth- letting them fall into the water. As the double helix closed at the pinnacle of their crest, we infused it with positive energy. As the vines scintillated gold, they began to recede, and I briefly took notice of the press' verbal awe.

As the vines slowly retreated to the canal, Korra and I ceased bending and she also bowed. "Go in peace," Korra urged serenely.

The small crowd behind us clapped and the reporters approached the Avatar. I noted Raiko's severe displeasure smugly.

"How did you know what to do?"

"Will you send the spirits away now?"

"How soon can we expect public water service to resume?"

It was then I realised the source of the aggressive growth of the vines- it was the people of Republuc City. Their negative- damn near paragon of cynicism- view on almost anything that gave them the slightest disservice had nearly curdled the vines, had caused them grow. The ground beneath the bridge rumbled and roared, and the vines Korra and I had valiantly appeased moments before ripped through the water's surface.

The vines greedily sought purchase on the building they previously habited. More vines propelled themselves over their kin, blotting out the sun for the terrified occupants of the apartment complex. The spirit-infused tendrils pulled on the building, tilting it towards the bridge.

"Korra, go!" I yelled, and hurtled towards Lin and Bolin.

"Look out!" Korra cried, and took hold of her glider. The Avatar then took to the air as she approached the crumbling building.

Together, we three earthbenders conjured pillars to stop the groaning building from toppling over.

"Kailyn, what happened?!" Lin demanded behind clenched teeth.

"It's the negative auras from the people," I ground out, and reinforced my pillar when hairline cracks ran down the length.

Korra soared past on her glider, and arched to the top floor of the building. She landed on a thick limb of vine and held out her hand through the hollowed window. The building gave a violent shudder, and Korra lurched through the frame and took hold of a little boy. The tip of the building crumbled and fell away from the frame while Korra dove through the air, securely holding the boy to her. She touched back down moments before the crown of the building crashed; she set the boy down, who ran into my outstretched arms, and rolled through the air to stop the piece of the building from crushing the fleeing inhabitants.

I marveled at the raw power Korra possessed on her own- to be capable of so much at only eighteen. She slowly brought the tip down to land softly as Bolin walked up to her.

"Kailyn, are you all right?" Lin huffed, eying the boy still in my arms.

"Karu!" a woman cried.

"Mummy!" the boy cried, and wiggled out of my arms. He dropped onto the ground, and raced into the assuring embrace of his frazzled mother. Karu nuzzled his dirty face into her flushed one, and beamed brightly.

"I'm fine," I finally said.

"I have to make a report of this at the station- try not to piss Raiko off anymore."

"No promises," I called after her.

I took a cab back to City Hall, and as the driver haphazardly wove through midday traffic I mulled over a thought that had been growing in my mind throughout the week. My job clearly was not what I envisioned, nor what I had agreed to when finalizing details with Raiko's administration. A man was standing at the foot of the stair, pacing with a force languid pace every so often, clearly awaiting someone's arrival.

"General!" I called out amiably as I stepped out of my cab, "What brings you away from your fleet?"

"I will be leaving for the Fire Nation later this afternoon- so I came to say good bye," he explained, hands clasped behind his back.

"Republic City will miss you," I said in lame earnest. I did not know what else to say, other than the obvious farewell to one whom I was honoured to call friend.

"I hope this is not the last we see each other, Miss Beifong," General Iroh announced.

"I agree- you may need to come collect my mother and me from an underground society after we break out of a prisoner of war camp," I replied with a wry smile.

"Kailyn," the president's secretary, June, called from the front door, "President Raiko wishes to speak with you- now."

"I will be there…presently," I answered with a sigh.

"This is where we say good bye, then."

"It would seem so," I spoke softly.

I do not know who made the first move, to be honest, for it seemed like we moved on instinctual synchronisation. His sure arms pulled me to him, my own arms held us fast, as we embraced. It was then I realised that heat possessed a scent- and Crown Prince- General Iroh smelled of it. I made to draw back, but he latently tightened his hold, and so I ceased my withdrawal.

"I will miss you, Kailyn," he whispered lowly.

That was the first time he called me by name, but I did not have the proper time to mull that over.

"Kailyn!"

"Good bye," I said in earnest, and then hurried up the steps into City Hall. I made my way down the corridor of endless doors; the walk to President Raiko's office had never seemed so tediously long.


	5. Chapter 5

"Ah, Miss Hsiao," the aforemention greeted me as he read over one of many papers on his desk, "Please, take a seat." He did not say anything further until after he had finished reading. "Now, I wanted to talk to you about the press conference, and how we both handled the situation." My lips pursed in regretful anticipation of the row that would soon ensue. "Your statement served to put my administration in a more delicate situation with the public standing."

"You might want to rethink your hold over public opinion if it can be shaken by one statement," I remarked smoothly.

"Not shaken, questioned," Raiko countered, "Miss Hsiao, I brought you into my cabinet because I know your father made sure you had an excellent head on your shoulders, but I can't have you contradicting my decisions immediately after I have announced them to the press."

"My name is Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong, but to save others the trouble I prefer to be addressed as Miss Beifong. I did not intend to be received as contradictory, sir, I merely wished to pose the fact that no individual is at fault. Republic City is locked in the ignorant mentality of what my father coined the 'somebody else dilemma'. Now, that being said I would like to inform you that I no longer wish to be a branch of your administration. Thank you, sir, for the opportunity, but I feel my duty lies with aiding the Avatar." I shook President Raiko's somewhat limp hand due to his astonishment, and then gleefully went to my small office to clear out my desk.

"One statement to the press, an argument with Raiko, and you resign," Tenzin chuckled from the open doorway.

"I'm a Hsiao-Beifong," I quipped, "I sure wasn't going to wait until I reached the point to reducing the president to rubble!"

"Too much like Lin, and too articulate like your father," Tenzin concluded.

"What can I say?" I mused with a broad grin. My smile faded when I came across a photograph of my father and me. It was shortly after the two of us had moved to Republic City- you could tell by the lines about my father's lips and the fading bruise at my collarbone.

"Kailyn?"

"Lost in thought," I apologized, and tucked the picture in the box.

"Lin wanted me to bring you to Kyoshi Bridge- Daw, the new airbender, has been found," Tenzin explained.

"All right, I am almost finished up," I replid, and quickly packed away the remaining items on my desk. I made my way to Oogi with his master, and soon was flying over Republic City to the bride.

The police had set up a blockade about halfway down the bridge, and I made out my mother's figure at the head of the metalbenders. Tenzin brought Oogi down, and I smoothly slid down the sky bison's flank.

"You know where to go," an officer mused wryly, and stepped aside to let me past the barrier that kept the press at bay.

"Lin!" I called out over the growing noise of impatient reporters. I trotted up to her, and took note of the megaphone in her hand.

"Idiot has got himself stuck up at the top of the bridge- knocks down any of my officers that try to reach him," Lin huffed. She brought the megaphone up to her mouth and announced to the frightened man, "Come down immediately, or we will be forced to take action."

I clicked my tongue in annoyance at her tone, but said nothing. I watched as another round of metalbenders attempted to reach Daw, and Korra came up to me. An air dome erupted from Daw, and knocked off all the officers. My breath hitched as the metalbenders fell through the air, but they fired their cables towards the bridge to delay their descents. Korra took hold of her glider and took to the sky. "Korra will be able to talk him down," I voiced confidently, and watched the Avatar soar to the panicked airbender.

"Where's Tenzin?"

"He brought me here," I explained, looking for the airbending master.

"How long has he been up there?" Tenzin asked, suddenly appearing.

"Not even an hour," my mother answered.

"What do you think about the whole thing?" Bolin asked me as he came from behind.

"I think it's incredible," I answered in earnest, "This changes everything- isn't it wonderful?" I gave Bolin a small smile, and then returned my attention back to the top of the bridge. My eyes strained to make out what Korra was doing with the new airbender.

Daw began to plummet through the air; Korra dove after him, her glider snapping open, and she caught the man. Those behind the police barricade cheered as the Avatar and Daw landed safely. Tenzin brushed past me to speak with them, and Lin came up to me.

"Your boss is here," she grunted.

"He's not my boss," I remarked, "Not anymore." I turned on my heel to speak with the president, but it seemed he had pressing matters to discuss with Korra.

"So, is this the deal?" he demanded loudly as a metalbender opened the barricade for him, "We have a crisis every other day now thanks to you."

"Listen, I know you're having a tough time getting used to these changes- and I'm sorry for that, but _you_ and everyone else are going to have to learn to live with it. The vines and the spirits are here to stay," Korra explained.

The president clearly did not take those words to heart well. I stepped into his line of sight, and raised my head assertively. "President Raiko, I advise you to consider your next words and actions _carefully_. I understand the stress you are under at the moment, but-"

"-It is no longer necessary for you to advise me, _Miss Hsiao_. Well, you know who's not here to stay?" Raiko spat angrily over my shoulder, "_You_! I order you to leave this city. You've caused nothing but trouble since you arrived."

The crowd gasped, but Korra remained undaunted. "Don't worry, I was already leaving," she countered. Korra and Raiko walked away from each other, and the Avatar dipped her head to smile. I followed her as she met up with Tenzin. "I can see my path now. There are new airbenders out there and I'm going to find them and rebuild the Air Nation," she announced.

"Don't think I'm not going with you," Tenzin replied, "It's so exciting. Who knows who's out there now, discovering the gift of airbending for the first time?"

"Kailyn, a word," my mother called over her shoulder after she finished addressing her officers.

I wrapped my arms around Korra, and embraced her fiercely. "I wish you the best of luck if I don't see you again," I murmured, "Be safe."

"Are you leaving then?" my mother inquired tersely when I approached her.

"No, even though I am no longer working for Raiko I will stay in the city. Can't let you try to live off of take out again."

She shot me a warning glare, but I knew she was relieved. We looked out for each other- always will.

"How's things with Chief Beifong been?" Gommu asked me as we strolled through the park.

"Same as always," I answered warmly, "You haven't had any trouble with the spirits, have you?"

"Not at all! Happy to have the company," Gommu chirped.

I smiled at him, silently wishing that the rest of Republic City were half as accepting as Gommu. "I am going to visit my father, would you come with me?" I asked softly.

"Spirit vines couldn't keep me away."

We walked in silence to the cemetery, not meeting the eye of many who walked past. It was queer, the stillness that lingered in the hallowed place despite the thunderous noise of the city around us. Gommu took off his worn cap, and I adjusted my father's cravat around my neck. There were only a small handful of others in the graveyard, and they were too deep in their own reveries to take note of us. Gommu offered me his arm, and I took it with a soft, sad smile. My father's grave was composed of gentle marble with delicate etchings of his name.

"Strange to think it's been two years," Gommu murmured.

I nodded, and came to a halt as I recalled the last time I had been with my father. It was a memory tainted with fear, and later sullied by grief. The Equalists had crept in and stolen us away in the night- a plan so well thought and executed, that the fire seemed an accident- that we had perished in our sleep. I could still recall the books that crashed against me as they fell from their home in the shelves at the rumble of the explosions. The Equalist had not taken note of me, and I so I had sent two pillars of earth crashing through the floor to hit the two closest to me.

'_Kailyn, get out of here!'_

I was foolish to think that I could defeat them all; I was arrogant in my belief that the power of my bending was superior to their skill and experience. I had never felt the lethally accurate touch of a chi blocker before that night. It was then I fully understood the threat the revolutionists possessed. I can recall the terrified, anguished face of my father as Amon stripped him of his very life better than I can recall my own visage. I can still hear the crazed cheers of those who supported Amon as he killed my father as if it were sport.

"Beifong is taking care of her, old friend, I promise you that. You would be proud of her, spirits know the Chief is. She's remarkable, and kind, like you." It was Gommu's words that pulled me out of my worst memory. I smiled faintly at the man, and rested my head on his shoulder. "I will leave you to yourself for a bit, take your time," he spoke softly.

I stood dumbly at the foot of my father's grave, unable to decide where to begin. So many words had been unspoken on my part, and now that I had the chance- I could not find them. I slowly dropped to my knees, and pressed a hand into the soil above him. "I miss you," I began lamely, "So much that my mind forces me to forget you at times. I know I have Lin, but I still need you…you raised me to hold others above myself, and you led by example.

"Gommu says you would be proud, but I feel as though I have failed you. Perhaps if you were here in my stead you could have helped with getting people to accept the spirits and vines." I closed my eyes when they burned with tears, and tremulously finished, "I will never stop trying to make you proud, Dad, and know that not a day goes by where I do not miss you. I love you." I rose to my feet and made my way to Gommu, who had given me privacy.

"You okay?" he inquired while handing me a tattered handkerchief.

"Fine," I sniffed faintly, and dabbed my eyes.

"Let's get you home."

I was surprised to come through the front door and find Lin pacing in the living room. I wiped away the tears that clung to the corners of my eyes and exhaled tremulously.

"Where have you been?!"

"I-"

"-What happened? Are you hurt?" my mother interjected, her voice suddenly soft. She strode up to me, and cupped my face in her firm hands.

"No," I assured her faintly, "I went to visit my father…" Our eyes met, and Lin gave me a lopsided grimace of apologetic understanding; she traced the line of my cheek with her thumb. "I did not expect you home so soon," I mused.

At that, her features turned grim and she stepped away from me. "I have received word from Lord Zuko and Chief Tonraq from the North Pole."

"What would either of them be doing there?" I pressed.

"Never you mind right now- we need to pack, and take an airship to Ba Sing Se," Lin instructed, and left to go to her room.

I trotted into my own, and dug out the rucksack that once carried all the possessions I had left in the world from beneath my bed. The first thing I did was strap my cables to my hips, and then fastened the elongated vambraces that paired with the mechanism, and then only the essentials fell into my bag. Something set Lin on edge- that much was certain- but what worried me was why were to travel to Ba Sing Se, where I knew Team Avatar, Tenzin, Jinora, and Bumi were.

"Ready?" Lin asked as she leaned against the doorway. Though she attempted to feign otherwise, she was on edge, and that worried me.

"One moment," I stopped her, and hurried over my desk. I coiled my hair at the nape of my neck and fastened it with the hairpin-cum-knife Lin had given me.

A stiff smile flickered across her lip, and then she jerked her head in the direction of the front door. A letter amidst the post of the day caught my eye, mainly due to the fine stationary that bore my name. I snatched up the letter, and then followed Lin out the door. We made our way to the station, and boarded an airship without saying a word.

"Get some rest," Lin grunted, and she went to the control panel.


	6. Chapter 6

I sat on the bench closest to her, and stared at the letter still clutched in my hand. Why would I be receiving a letter from the Fire Nation of all places? I broke the wax seal of the nation's insignia, and quickly unfolded the letter.

_Kailyn,_

_I am writing to you to primarily inquire the status of your person- in a less formal manner, I want to know how you are…really. I know this letter may strike you as odd, seeing as we were not particularly close during my time in Republic City, but I do wish for that to change…_

_My grandfather has left the capital to go to the North Pole, and he seemed incredibly ill at ease. He would not tell me why he made such a hasty departure, and I find myself trouble as the endless possibilities cloud my mind. _

_How is life in the city treating you?_

_I hope this city finds you in the best of health._

_Iroh II _

"What are you not telling me?" I asked my mother as I set the letter from Iroh aside. I padded up to her and saw that her brow was furrowed. "Mum?" I pressed.

"What do you know of the criminal named Zaheer, and his cohorts?"

"Nothing."

"Zaheer and three others attempted to kidnap the Avatar when she was a child- they've been imprisoned in individuals prisons keyed to blocking their abilities ever since. The four of them could wipe out a nation- but together they could conquer the world."

"What about their situation changed?" I asked.

"During Harmonic Convergence, Zaheer was one of the people that was given airbending. He and his comrades have all escaped," Lin finished.

"That's why Lord Zuko left the Fire Nation capital," I concluded, and Lin's quirked brow I continued, "I received a letter from General Iroh. In it, he expressed concern over his grandfather's hasty departure."

"I didn't realise the two of you were so close," Lin remarked stiffly.

I ignored the verbal jab, and kept my features schooled. "What is their purpose?" I asked.

"Chaos," Lin growled, "They are after Korra."

A strange light flickered in her eyes, and I saw my mother visibly tense. I reached out and clasped the crook of her elbow. "Hey," I murmured, and ran my hand down the length of her arm to hold her hand, "You won't fail. Not this time…you are not alone."

Lin's only response was to squeeze my hand.

We traveled through the night and the following day to reach the Earth Kingdom capital. Lin brought the airship down in the palace's landing bay. "They're this way," she mused, and stalked towards to one of the guest houses. She knocked raptly on the door, shooting me a bemused glance at the scuffling that erupted on the other side of the door.

Tenzin was the one who answered, and I grinned broadly at the airbending master while Lin walked past.

"Hello, everyone!" I chirped.

"Lin, Kailyn? What are you doing here?" Tenzin asked.

"We need to get Korra out of here immediately. Her life's in danger," Lin announced curtly.

"What?!" Korra demanded, and came up to the three of us, "What's going on?"

"I just got word from Lord Zuko and Tonraq," Lin continued, unfazed by the Avatar's outburst.

"Why is Lord Zuko with my dad?"

"Maybe we should explain-" I began.

"-Zaheer and the others have escaped," Lin told Tenzin.

"How is that possible?" he murmured.

"Because Zaheer is an airbender now."

"No…"

"All right- hold on!" Korra exclaimed impatiently, "Will you quit ignoring me and tell me what's going on?! Who's Zaheer? Why is my life in danger?"

Lin and Tenzin shared one of their unique looks, and then the latter approached Korra. "Shortly after we found out you were the Avatar, Zaheer and three others attempted to kidnap you. Luckily, your father, Lord Zuko, Chief Sokka, and I were there to stop them," Tenzin explained, "We apprehended the criminals and locked them away in prisons designed to impair their abilities."

"So _that's_ why you and my dad sheltered me away," Korra deduced.

"It was for your own safety," Tenzin agreed.

"Why were they trying to kidnap Korra?" Mako asked, stepping forward.

"We spent thirteen years interrogating them, but they never broke. To this day, no one knows what their motive was," Lin explained. My mother turned her full attention to Korra, and her features set in determination. "Now, we need to get you back to Republic City, where I can protect you," she said.

I already knew Korra's answer. "No," she argued, "I'm not running."

"Korra, you don't understand. These criminals are like nothing you've ever faced before."

"Look- I'm not a little kid anymore, you don't need to protect me," Korra continued, "I came here for one thing- to find airbenders and I'm not leaving without them."

"Fine. Let's get them and get out of here. Where are they?" Lin grumbled.

"In a military compound, and we're busting them out."

A big smile set my lips and I came up to Korra. "Lucky for you, I happen to be quite familiar with prison escapes. What do you need?" I quipped, and cracked my shoulders for further measure.

"Hi," Jinora addressed the two royal guards innocently.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" one of them demanded.

"Oh, it's just that little airbender girl who came with the Avatar."

Korra, Bolin, Bumi, Tenzin, Mako, and I crept to the corner's edge just behind the guards.

"You shouldn't be walking around here all alone," the second guard finished.

Jinora impishly pointed at us over his shoulder, and softly argued, "I'm not alone."

We dropped into our fighting stanes; Bolin and I sent rocks into one guard, whilst Bumi decked the other. Tenzin and Mako tied up the unconscious guards, and then the seven of us slipped into the temple.

"Dai Li," I hissed, sensing the patrolling agents with my bare feet. We all huddled in a shadowed doorway until I gave the all clear.

"Bumi, Kailyn, and Korra, come with me to find the airbenders," Tenzin instructed, "You three, find Kai. We'll meet on the surface shortly- radio us if anything goes wrong."

We split to head our separate ways, and I led my group to where the airbenders were being held. Korra opened the cell door, which woke the prisoners.

"What's going on?" one of them slurred sleepily, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Avatar, and I'm getting you all out of here," Korra explained.

When the airbenders began to murmur in doubt, Tenzin stepped into view. "Everyone, please! You must stay calm and quiet if we want this to work," he exclaimed softly.

"What to work?" the same airbender asked, and his eyes widened as he caught on to the plan, "We're sneaking out?!"

"Yes, and we must leave now," Korra urged.

"We're going to get you away from the Earth Queen and out of the city," Tenzin added.

The prisoners wasted no time after that, they sprinted out of their cell. I ushered them to hurry down the corridor, and then fell back to rejoin Bumi. The man was crouched low to the ground against the wall sharing the cell door, and he brought the walkie-talkie up to his lips. "Topside, this is Papa Bear- the breezies are in the hold, cue the balloons!" he said in a stage whisper.

"_What?!_" my mother replied, "_Are you in trouble?_"

"No!" Bumi groaned, "We've got the airbenders, and we're headed out!" He broke the line, and sniffed to me, "No one likes code names anymore."

"_Copy that. Asami and I are on our way,_" Lin answered.

"Lil Beifong, you need to work with her on that," Bumi announced as we jogged down the dark corridor.

"I promise to try, but don't expect any results," I chuckled.

We shortly caught up with the airbenders, along with Korra and Tenzin. Korra peeked around the corner of the temple's doorway to scope out the courtyard. "Come on, it's clear!" she whispered, and we all ran out.

As the last prisoner crossed over the threshold, Dai Li agents dropped from the temple and surrounded us. "So, you've discovered my elite army," the Earth Queen simpered, "I see their loyalty still needs some work."

"These airbenders shouldn't be used as weapons! They have a right to choose their own paths!" Korra argued.

"These airbenders are Earth Kingdom citizens, and I am their queen. Taking them will constitute as an act of war. If you disobey me, I will bear down on you with the entire force of my kingdom!" the monarch snapped.

"They're leaving with me!" Korra retorted.

"No, they're not!" the Earth Queen shrilled, and walked away.

The first row of Dai Li agents shot out their rock gloves. I punched through the first one, but the second one that I batted away clipped the side of my face. My eyes teared up, and my cheek burned. The airbenders jumped in front of us and started to fire blasts of air at the Dai Li; above us, Lin and Asami were dropping the ladders of their airships. I thrust both fists up, and a towering wall erupted between the Dai Li and the airbenders. "Go, go!" I shouted to the latter.

"Everyone in- let's go!" Bumi hollered.

I was the last one up the ladder of Lin' airship, and of the airbenders helped me through the hatch. "Thanks," I panted.

"Thank you for buying us some time," he said in turn, "That was some bending."

"Kailyn," Lin called from the control deck.

"Excuse me." I weaved my way through the crowd of airbenders to her. "Well, it wasn't as smooth as our break out," I remarked with a smile, but winced at the hot pain that shot through the side of my face.

"Ha. Ha," Lin grunted tersely, and turned the injured side of my face into the light, "That will be quite the bruise in a couple of hours."

"I'll have Korra heal it when we land," I dismissed, "Don't worry, Mum, it doesn't hurt much."

"Hmph."


	7. Chapter 7

"While you're playing fetch, four of the most dangerous criminals are hunting you down. We should get moving," my mother grumbled.

"Relax- we just got here. Besides, no one knows where I am except us," Korra dismissed, and patted Naga's head when she dropped the retrieved ball at Lin's feet. "I think she wants you to throw it for her," she explained, amused.

My mother looked down at the ball; bits of grass clung to the saliva-coated ball, and Naga whined in beseechment. "I'll pass, thanks," Lin replied coolly after glancing at Korra. I ducked my head and smiled.

"We just got a call from the radio about another airbender," Asami announced as she and Mako jogged down the platform.

"Finally!" Korra cheered, "Where are they?"

"A city called Zaofu," Mako explained, and Lin visibly became ill at ease, "The home of the Metal Clan."

"You know the place?" Korra asked Lin.

Lin grimaced, and would not meet my burning gaze. She clearly knew someone or something to do with Zaofu. "Uhh…never been there," she stammered unconvincingly, and then folded her arms, "But I don't want you going there. I would rest a lot easier if you were back at Republic City."

"Sorry, if there's an airbender in Zaofu, then that's where we are going next."

"Plus, Korra's banned from the city- thanks to the president," I added.

Lin shot me a glare, whilst Korra and Asami took the opportunity to board the airship. I came up to my mother's side, and made to take hold of her hand. She shifted it out of reach just as my fingers brushed against hers. Naga bent her head down, and nudge the ball closer to Lin. I bent over, intending to humour the polar bear dog, but Lin shot out one of her cables. The metal slashed through the worn leather, and punctured the ball. Naga whined pitifully as she ran a paw over the deflated toy in an attempt to roll it.

"Ach, Mum!" I groaned, and gave Naga's head a sympathetic pat.

Zaofu was unlike any city I had ever seen before; the city was congregated into several pods surrounding what I assumed was the city centre. Huge blades of metal, curled like lotus petals, surrounded each pod's base. Everyone except Lin looked down at the city in various degrees of wonder.

"Wow- wow! Wow! An entire city made of metal!" Bolin exclaimed, and looked at Lin, "Wohoho, you should feel right at home, Beifong."

Lin gave a noncommittal grunt from her seat, and once again ignored my inquisitive gaze. After quite an elaborate means of landing with the help of some of Zaofu's metalbenders, I softly padded over and took a seat beside my mother.

"Aren't you coming?"Asami asked us.

"What's there to see? It's metal. Big whoop. Just find the airbender and let's get moving- don't tell anyone I'm here," Lin warned, and jabbed a finger at Team Avatar.

"Why not?" Korra pressed.

"I don't need to explain myself to you. Just do what I say!"

"Fine- you got it, Chief Crankypants," Korra huffed.

"What's going on?" I asked once Team Avatar had left the airshift, "I have never seen you like this."

"The Avatar refuses to listen to me- she is in danger from powers you don't understand- and we are just drifting around the country."

"We do understand," I protested gently, "But what you need to realise is what Korra said is true- no one but us know where she is." There was something else troubling her greatly that much was certain. Only Lin did not seem ready for me to listen to what she had to say. "When you're ready," I murmured, "I'm here."

Lin stiffly rose to her feet and marched over to the window that overlooked the city. She rigidly rested an arm against the glass, her scowl reflecting back at me. I remained in my seat, and simply waited.

"I found out," Korra announced loudly, causing Lin to turn to her in mild alarm, "Why you're so against coming here." The rest of Team Avatar, along with a woman with eyes exactly like Lin's, boarded the airship. "Why didn't you ever tell me you had a sister?"

"Sister?" I repeated softly, and my mother flinched.

"_Half_-sister," Lin spat.

"Same mum, different dads, so what?" the woman smoothly dismissed. She put her hand over her heart and continued, "We're blood, Lin, and after thirty years the least you could do is say 'hello'."

"I have _nothing_ to say to you," Lin growled bitterly.

"You two haven't spoken in _thirty years_? How come?" Korra asked.

"Ask her- I've tried," Lin's sister answered coolly.

"Oh, don't put that on me. You're the one who tore our family apart," my mother snapped.

"And you've done a bang up job keeping it that way."

"Listen, I think it would be best if we continued this conversation when we all have had time to collect ourselves," I urged, and smoothly stepped between Lin and her sister. "We haven't been properly introduced," I mused to the latter.

"Suyin Beifong, and you are?"

"Kailyn Hsiao-B-" I began.

"-You haven't changed one bit, have you?" Lin interjected.

"Look, we can stay here arguing about the past all day, but that's not the reason the Avatar came here," Suyin said, and turned her attention to Korra, "My daughter is thrilled to meet you."

"Lin, your niece is the new airbender! Isn't that amazing?!"

"Yeah. Terrific." The old Lin was making her reappearance, and that terrified me.

"Come," Suyin urged, "I would love for you to meet the rest of my family."

She led us to the lotus pod set in the hills away from the city. We all walked along the side of a field with metal columns spread throughout the strange arena set below. My interest piqued at the sight of a metal disk ricocheting about the columns. My mother growled warningly when I ventured what she deemed too far from her.

"Those two are my youngest, Wei and Wing. They're playing a game called power disc- they invented it all on their own."

One of the twins fire the metal disc, whose brother then redirected it. The first leapt to intercept the disc, but fell short.

"Oh, nice power, Wei!" Suyin called out.

"Ha! Wing goes down!" Wei cheered as his twin pounded the ground in defeat.

"I'm so proud of those two," Suyin remarked with a fluttering gesture of her hand, and then led us to another courtyard.

This one was filled with strange, almost outlandish, metal sculptures. The creator of said sculptures was a waifish young man with long black hair with several piercings on his face and ear. "Huan, I'd like you to meet the Avatar and her friends. And your Aunt Lin," Suyin announced.

"Nice to meet you," Korra and I said.

"Hey," he grunted half-heartedly with a twitch of his pierced brow, not bothering himself to look back at us.

"Excuse me," I drawled loudly, "But…" I walked to him, and spun him around to face me. "…It is socially uncouth to neglect one's guests," I finished, "So, let's try this again. Hello, my name is Kailyn, and it is nice to meet you."

"Let go of me!" he grunted, and feebly tried to pry my hand off the collar of his shirt.

I used metal bending to gently tug the stud in his ear knowingly, and chirped, "Try again- I know you can do it!"

"Oh, she's precious," Suyin crowed softly.

"Hello…" Huan grumbled, "I'm Huan- now let go of me, you're crushing my creative spirit."

"Gladly," I replied, and fell back to Lin's side.

"Wow, that's a really nice…banana? Yes- very, very lifelike," Bolin haltingly complimented.

"It's not a banana! It was inspired by Harmonic Convergence- it represents the dawning of a New Age. Obviously," Huan explained irritably, and shot Bolin a glare.

"Oh, yeah, no- uh, I can- I can totally see that," Bolin stammered, and made a frame with his fingers while the rest of us began to walk away, "I can, oh, let me stand here. Yes, I can see that now. Yes- thank you."

I held back to let him catch up and shot him a wry, sympathetic grin. "Banana," I whispered.

"That's a banana," he agreed heartily.

"And this is my daughter, Opal," Suyin introduced when we came upon a girl reading.

Opal set her book aside, and rose to her feet. "Wow, Avatar Korra. I can't believe you're here. You are so amazing," she said warmly.

"It's great to meet you, Opal," Korra replied.

"Opal. That's a beautiful name," Bolin noted.

Opal blushed prettily, and I expected to feel the same painful twinge in my chest that I had felt when Bolin kissed Ginger. But I only felt happy for him. "Thanks," she said sheepishly.

"I'm Bolin," my friend explained, and gave her a grin.

"Opal, but- uh- you already knew that," she stammered, and averted her gaze whilst Bolin looked off into the distance.

My mother stormed up to the four people. "Great," she grunted, "We've found the airbender. Let's take her back to the airship and get out of here."

"Mu- Lin!" I chided.


	8. Chapter 8

"And the woman apparently trying to abduct you is your Aunt Lin," Suyin explained to her daughter.

"Really?!" Opal's face brightened, and she turned her attention to Lin. "I've always wanted to meet you. My mum has told me so many stories about you," she said warmly.

"I'm sure she has," Lin scoffed.

"So, I've set you all up in the guesthouses while Korra trains Opal," Suyin announced.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I was hoping she could train with the rest of the airbenders at the Northern Temple," Korra replied.

"Nonsense," Suyin dismissed gently, "This is where Opal's home and family are. You can train her here."

"I guess I could help her get started," Korra replied.

"Absolutely not! We're leaving," Lin growled.

"She's just a little worried because there's a bunch of crazy criminals after me," Korra explained, an attempt of an apology on Lin's behalf.

"If you're concerned about security- don't be. This is the safest city in the world," Suyin assured us, and Lin rolled her eyes, "Now I'll see you all at dinner. And come hungry. My chef will blow the taste buds right out of your mouth!" Suyin took her leave, and I drew closer to Lin.

"Why do you have such a problem with your sister? She seems nice," Korra mused, which earned h a glare from my mother, "Come on, we can stay a little while."

Lin positively bristled and seethed at the Avatar's words, and once again growled.

"Mum-" I began softly. I found myself under the heat of her ire, but levelly met her harsh gaze with a calm one. "I refuse to talk when you're like this," I amended, "Come find me when you're ready." I walked back to the twins to have them teach me power disc.

It was a sight to behold, watching the metal panels surrounding the city be brought to a close. I stood out on the balcony of the guest house in the clothes laid out for me- courtesy of my unaware aunt. "It's beautiful here," I noted serenely, taking a deep breath of the mountain air. My unbound hair idly flitted through the dying breeze, and caught a faint whiff of the plumeria hair oil left for us in the bathroom.

Lin only shifted stiffly in her seat in a high-backed chair inside the house. She refused to change into the outfit laid out for her, looking every bit the stern Chief of Police. She had yet to say a coherent word, nor had she explained why she lied by omission to Su about my relation to all of them.

"We should head to the dining hall," I announced, and came away from the balcony. Lin wordlessly fell into step with me- her metal boots clanking harshly against the stonework of the pathway. We were the last to arrive, and Lin dropped into her seat with the attitude akin to a petulant child. I took the seat to her left on the corner, and then smiled tensely at Korra from across the table.

"Tonight, for your dining pleasure, I present a seared wild Kyoshi elephant koi, paired with ginger-infused pea tendril and hibiscus root salad," the chef announced whilst we were given our plates

"Stunning," Su remarked.

The chef bowed to the matriarch before taking his leave, bowing to a man as they crossed paths in the open doorway.

"Sorry, dear, I'm going to have to take dinner in my office. I just had a major breakthrough on the tram station remodel!" the unknown man announced.

"Well, don't let me stand in the way of inspiration."

"You're the best!" the man crowed, and Lin once again rolled her eyes.

I failed to catch what Su said to Korra due to the quibbling of Wei and Wing beside me. However, I heard Lin's response just fine.

"Five kids. What a nightmare."

"No, no," Su replied, quirking a brow when I bowed my head and threaded my hands together on my lap, "My children are a blessing."

"Yeah- Mum used to say that, too, but she never meant it," my own mother scoffed.

I let my hair fall in front of my face to form a curtain to hide my quivering lips, and I felt my shoulders tense. My mind fell back to Ember Island- to where Lin had told me that I was a blessing to her. Had that been a lie?

"…your search for the new airbenders going?"

"Honestly, not great," Korra admitted, "We had to rescue a whole group of them from the Earth Queen."

"Oh, she's horrible. She thinks she can do whatever she wants," Su concurred.

"Sounds familiar," Lin muttered.

"What?" Su demanded softly.

"Nothing."

I pushed myself away from the table, earning the attention of everyone else. "My apologies, but I seem to have lost my appetite. Good night, everyone," I bid, and rose to my feet. As I calmly strode out of the dining hall, I could feel Lin's eyes on me. I knew she would be furious at me for leaving, but I couldn't bear anymore of the rage rolling off of my mother. I couldn't bear to feel like this.

"Outside- now," Lin ordered as she stalked across the guest house, and trudged to the back garden.

I shrugged off the loose-fitting dress and ornamental metal about my forearms, and followed her out. We both left our shoes at the back door, and I almost smiled at the habit. Just as my foot touched the soft grass, Lin struck.

She sent a boulder hurtling towards my head, but I caught it and smoothly tossed it behind me. She snarled and dug deep into the earth.

"Why did you not tell me about our family?"

"You didn't need to know- we do just fine without them."

"Didn't need to know?" I repeated incredulously, "Mum, they're family. And Opal thinks otherwise about that last bit."

"That girl is a dreamer- just like her mother," Lin spat, and sent another volley of rocks at me.

I hurled myself out of their path, skimming just along the ground. I flung up a wall to absorb her next attack, and sent it soaring towards her. I sprinted closely behind it, and darted around to press her against it. "Why didn't you tell her I was your daughter?" I implored tremulously as my arm barred her escape, "Have I ashamed you? Do I serve only as a burden to you?"

Lin lunged against my arm holding her back, but could not move far. She hooked a foot behind my knee. "Match over," she growled, and swept my feet out from under me.

"Stop!" I called after her, and lurched to my feet. "Mum, I only want to know _why_," I beseeched.

"Why should I tell you anything?!" Lin retorted.

My hand that reached out to grab her shoulder stilled in the air. My fingers twitched and tightened into a fist as I lowered it. "Because I want to know, Mum, the good and the bad…" I began haltingly.

"Kailyn."

"Because you know me, Mum. You know the scared little girl who grew into a young woman. But I don't know you, not really," I finished, and walked back into the house. I went into the bathroom, peeled off my damp clothes, and started a bath. I thought talking would ease the ache in my chest, but it only aggravated it. I slipped into the hot water, immersing up to my ears so that the rest of the world outside these four walls was shushed away. I watched the steam cur up into the air and then fade away- only for another tendril to take its place. I fell into a heady lull, and absorbed the balm around me.

"GET OUT!"


	9. Chapter 9

I lurched up out of the water, rubbing it out of my eyes. I didn't bother draining the tub, and hastily wrapped a towel around my dripping person. I paused just behind the doorway leading into the front parlour when I heard Korra.

"What's your problem?!" the Avatar shouted, "Don't get mad at Opal- I asked her to talk to you because I thought it would help you snap out of whatever funk you're in. But I guess I was wrong."

"Why don't you focus on fixing the world, and stop trying to fix my family?!" Lin seethed.

"Su's right- you're never going to change. You're always going to be a bitter, lonely woman. And one day, you're going to even push Kailyn away. I don't understand how she can bear to call a woman like you her mother." Korra spat, and said nothing further. She slammed the door behind her.

I slipped into the room. What scared me was that instead of snarling or storming off- or even getting a drink- my mother was crying. She pressed a hand over her mouth to keep her sobs voiceless. But her tears shone like moonlight against her porcelain skin.

"She's wrong," I stammered in earnest, "Su and-"

"-Kailyn-"

"-Mum, I want to help-"

_**SMACK!**_

My face burned where her hand struck my face. A cold chill dripped down the length of my spine as I recoiled from her. Thick tears fell in earnest as I held a trembling hand to the scalding outline of Lin's hand on my cheek.

"Kailyn," she began, face ashen and wet with fresh tears.

"You stay away!" I sobbed, shoved her away, and fell backwards over the small table behind me as I retreated. "You stay far away! You- You're just like _her_!" I lurched to my feet, and hurtled past her. I blindly got dressed and sprinted out of the guest house.

I didn't sleep that night. Neither Asami nor Korra asked any questions when I burst into their place, and for that I was thankful. I spent the night replaying what had occurred between Lin and me. It was just as it was with Cassia when I was a little girl- I spoke out of turn, and so I was struck silent. Asami knew- somehow- for she pulled me into a fierce embrace. Maybe she could tell by the tears still rolling down my cheeks; maybe it was because of the fading handprint. Korra came up behind me to add to the comfort. I was to be trapped in the past…and Tenzin wasn't here to pick up my pieces.

I went with the girls when it was time for breakfast. I took the same seat as I had at dinner, and Su regarded me sadly. Was I so easy to read?

"Hey, has anyone seen Chief Beifong?" Mako asked as he came into the dining hall.

"I think she's still sulking her room."

"I know she has a problem with me, but she had no right to yell at Opal last night," Su mused. The twins ran into the room, and their mother asked, "All set for your power disc game, guys?"

"Yeah, all set to kick Wei's butt like Kailyn did yesterday," Wing remarked, and snatched an apple from the fruit bowl.

"I'm gonna power disc your face," Wei retorted, and smacked his brother in the stomach. While his twin choked, Wei said to Korra, "You should go play with us!"

"Um, I don't I'd be much competition- since I can't metalbend," Korra explained.

"Really? Lin never offered to train you?" Su inquired.

"Nope," Korra replied, "And I guess I never thought to bring it up because I was learning to airbend, then there was the probending, then I got tied up fighting Equalists. It was a busy few months."

"Well, it's probably for the best. I'm sure Lin would make a horrible teacher."

"She is a great teacher," I argued, voice soft and smooth, and met Su's gaze. I flinched at the peridot, thinking of Lin, but continued, "Not to mention, you shouldn't make such a decision when it's been thirty years." I pushed my chair away from the table, and when to the meteorite garden on one of the lower levels.

I walked up to the one nearest me and outstretched my hand. I searched for the pull of the tiny shards of earth spattered through the space metal. Invisible strings were fastened between the shards and my fingertips; I experimentally tugged each finger to gauge the effect the motion had on the metal until I got an understanding. Smiling idly as I worked, I pressed and formed the metal to curl and flare. Delicate petals bloomed beneath my hands until a beautiful peony rested beneath my shaping fingers.

"You have remarkable control," Su announced as she and Aiwei approached, "Who is it that taught you?" she asked.

"Initially? It was myself- I busted out of the metal cell Amon had me imprisoned in," I answered.

"Incredible." To which the Truth Seer nodded in agreement.

"Ever since then, it has been my mu- er, it's been Lin," I explained.

"Which would explain her comment at breakfast," Aiwei said sagely.

"You're very loyal, Kailyn," Su mused, "You bear an uncanny resemblance to my sister, all but your hair. It has felt like a reflection of the past has been staring back at me…forgive me, but I must know- are you her daughter?"

There it was, the question I had been dreading. "No," I answered finally, hoping that the Truth Seer would be fooled by the half-truth. His silent, quirked brow said otherwise.

"Might I have a word with you, Kailyn?" Aiwei requested, and led me off when Su left us to our devices.

"Why didn't you tell her?" I asked once she was out of hearing rang.

"For the same reason as you. It's doesn't take a Truth Seer to know that Chief Beifong and you are both dangerously out of balance. Go into town and see an acupuncturist- if anything, it will help calm your chakras."

"Thank you."

A bell chimed as I stepped into the surgery. "Hello?" I called out.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" a man asked warmly as he peeked through the open doorway.

"Aiwei sent me here- he said you could help me with some imbalance I…"

"Of course, come this way," the man smoothly outstretched his hand to beckon me further inside. "Have please, take off your outer layers, and lay on the table," he added after he closed the sliding door of the room.

I peeled off the dress robe I had worn since last night, and then slid onto the examination table. I watched the man bring up a dozen tiny needles, and instinctively I tensed.

"Don't worry- I have been doing this for years. I want you to let whatever emotions that you may feel during the session to flow freely. Take a deep breath and relax…"

My eyes drifted shut, and I breathed deeply.

_'Kailyn!" my mother snapped, 'What have you done to your new dress?' _

_ 'I was playing,' I sheepishly trailed off, suddenly feeling very small under the scrutiny of my mother and her friends. _

_ 'To your room,' my mother sighed, 'No dinner, and we will talk about this later.' _

_ I stumbled over the dirty hem of my dress, which caused the already fragile fabric to tear. The sound echoed around the too quiet room. A few of the guests sucked in their breath whilst my mother fumed. _

_ 'Out!' she shrieked, and hit the back of my head as I ran past her. _

_ 'I don't know how you can bear it, Cassia…' _

_ 'Those were important and powerful people!' my mother hissed at my cowering figure as I sat on the bed. 'People that your father must impress! What will they think of him when they have seen his daughter mucking about like a feral child?!' _

_ 'I'm sorry!' I blubbered, eyes misty and nose running. _

_ 'Give me your hands.'_

_ 'It won't happen again!' _

_ 'Now, Kailyn!' _

_ Haltingly, I outstretched my hands, palms parallel to the floor. Milky lines of scarred skin overlapped more recent pink welts, and soon would be joined by weeping ones. _

_ 'Count them,' she demanded idly as if only paying half attention, and brought the thin bamboo. _

_**SMACK!**_

_ 'One!' I yelped. _

_ …__**SMACK!**_

___'Ten!' I whimpered. _

_ "You conquered today."_

_ Lin…_


	10. Chapter 10

I breathed deeply as I felt the needles withdraw from my skin; I felt like one of the stones on Ember Island, wrought smooth by surge and upheaval. I felt changed, a sense of peace brought on an understanding. My mother was hurting, and I needed to be there for her as she unknowingly was for me. I smiled wearily up at the acupuncturist. "That…wow, was something," I concluded.

"You may feel a bit fragile for the next few days…try to take it easy."

I slipped my head through the robe, and softly asked, "I understand if you cannot answer this, but has Lin Beifong been here?"

"Mhm, she finished her session before yours. She had something to do-"

"-Oh no!" I groaned, and launched into a sprint. I took the tram back up to Su's estate, and then hurtled down the steps to the lower courtyard where Su trained Korra. I found the earth cracked and Lin confronting her sister.

"When we were in Mum's office that day, you could have taken responsibility for what you did. But instead you stayed quiet and let Mum throw her whole career away!" Lin raged, her chest heaving.

"Mum didn't throw her career away- she retired the next year! She was a hero!" Su dismissed incredulously.

"You think she wanted to retire?! She was so guilt-ridden about what she had to do to protect you- she didn't feel worthy of her badge!"

"Look, I admit that I was not a perfect kid," Su explained patiently, hands clasped behind her back, "And I've made some mistakes in the past, but-"

"-Ho ho!" Lin laughed coldly, "You made _some_ mistakes?!"

"Lin! Mum and I already talked about this years ago, and worked things out. If you had gotten together with us like we'd asked, you would know I'm a different person now. I've been a different person for a long time," Su replied, her voice taking on a familiar hard edge.

"You think just because you live in a big fancy house, and have a chef who cooks you fancy food that you're a different person?!" my mother shouted, "Maybe you can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me. I see right through you."

"You know what, Lin? You're the one who hasn't changed. You're still a bitter loner, who only cares about herself. No wonder Tenzin ended things with you years ago."

"End game- that's the winning point for Mum!" Wei cheered softly.

"Lin happens to be your aunt," I snapped.

"So- what's it to you? Mum is going to turn her into gravel," Wei fired back.

Lin sent a boulder hurtling towards Su with a snarl. "Okay, I guess this is how it's going to be," Su announced coldly. The younger Beifong knocked my mother off her feet, and while Lin soared through the air she shot a meteorite into my mother's stomach. Lin rolled backwards onto her feet with a grunt, and sent one of the metal ground plates soaring towards Su. The latter deftly pushed it aside, and regarded her elder sister with narrowed eyes.

My mother sent a volley of rocks from the ground, and with a surging thrust of her hands sent them all at Su. Su danced, ducked, and weaved- evading each shard Lin fired.

"Go, Mum!" Wei cheered as the aforementioned cartwheeled away to evade Lin's erupting line of earth. "She'll beat that ol' villain easy!"

My control snapped, and I spun on my heel. Using the metal around Wei's neck, I sent my lurching off his feet and face-first into the unsympathetic earth. I dragged him across the ground to stop at my feet, and then wrenched him off the ground by the collar of his shirt. "That's my mother!" I hissed, and punched Wei in the eye.

"Mother?!" he exclaimed as he staggered in Wing's flailing arms.

"Care to finish what I started?" I snarled, rolling my shoulders.

"Oh, yer gonna eat gravel!"

I smirked, but said nothing. I had learned from power disc that Wei relied on his right foot for a tether. I took a step forward and then executed a stiff, calculating slice through the air with my hand. The earth beneath his tether shifted, and sent Wei clambering about to regain his foothold. I kept shifting the ground about beneath him as I advanced; I shot forwards, placed my hands on Wei's shoulders, and used my momentum to push us to the ground.

Wei gasped hoarsely when the breath was knocked out of him, and I heaved myself forward using my grasp on his shoulders. I brought my knee up as I leapt over him, and let it connect with the sensitive underside of his jaw. I let myself smile when I just barely caught the sight of Wei's eyes rolling into the back of his head as he fell unconscious.

"Kailyn!" Korra shouted, and I saw her sliding to her knees to catch Lin's head as my mother sagged to the ground.

"I've got her," I rasped, and jogged up to my friend. I hooked an arm under my mother's knees and the around her shoulders. I got to my feet with a faint huff, and gave Korra a thankful smile. "Thank you," I murmured.

"Yeah, I- er, saw you were busy…"

"Huan, Wing, what happened to Wei?" Su asked.

"Mum, you won't believe…" Wing began, but I was soon out of hearing range.

I carried Lin to her bed and set her down gently. I metalbent her boots off, and placed them with the rest of her uniform. I went to the washroom and filled a basin with warm water; I snatched one of the hand linens off the rack, and then returned to her side. I washed away the sweat and dirt that dusted her ivory skin until the only sign of her fight that remained were the dark rings beneath her closed eyes. I took up my vigil in a chair at her bedside.

Lin would flinch or wordlessly cry out, which urged me to reach out and take hold of her hand. It was the very same hand that struck me but yesterday. But unlike Cassia, I did not shudder at Lin's unknowing touch. I realised that yes, what Lin did was wrong- but she never meant to hurt me…not as deep as she had. We looked out for each other; we were family. And sometimes even family mess up, but that love transcends all of that, for it is something that is beyond full comprehension. I kept her hand in mine, and patiently shushed her cries.

"Kailyn!" Lin called out wildly once.

I struggled to find the words strong enough to soothe her, and so I murmured lamely, "I'm here."

For twelve hours, I stood watch and waited for my mother to wake. The front door faintly groaned as it was pushed open. "Kailyn," Su spoke softly, "We need to talk. Lin will be fine."


	11. Chapter 11

Su and I walked to her meteorite gallery, and I broke away from her to go sit on the edge of the fountain's canal. I toed of my canvas shoes, and eased my feet into the cool water. Not even twenty four hours had passed since the Beifong women's spar, and already the scene was cleared away. The ground was smooth, the metal plates put back in their places, and the steps that my mother had torn away were replaced. All that tempestuousness gone- as though we all had imagined it.

"My sons told me an interesting bit of information- well, that is, after Wei regained consciousness," Su announced as she sat beside me, "That you call my sister your mother."

"And you call her a selfish and bitter loner," I retorted calmly.

"Varrik did warn me that you have a viper's silver tongue. But given your close contact with Lin- that is almost to be expected, your father was quite the orator, too." Su laughed gently.

"I fail to find humour in any of this. You're wrong about her," I spoke fervently, "Just as much as she about you. I was placed in her care after Amon murdered my father. A lot has happened since then- not just the thirty years you were apart from one another- but most of what that entails is strictly between my mother and me…Su, everything you think you know about Lin is wrong- tainted by the past's lens- and I think you are beginning to realise that."

"I knew your father…he was a loyal Earth Kingdom citizen, and an even greater man. He was murdered, but what happened to your biological mother?"

"The woman who gave birth to me is not my mother. That title is proudly borne by your sister," I explained, my foot that twirled ripples in the water came to a halt. The minute waves slowly ebbed into inexistence, and I raised my head to meet Su's gaze. She was more similar to my mother than the latter cared to admit; perhaps that was why my mother considered it impossible to yield.

"You're incredibly loyal to her, something our own mother would be proud of. From my understanding of what happened yesterday, I can understand why you assaulted my son, but that doesn't mean I approve." Su commented, "So please, try not to knock him around too much. The whinging can be unbearable at times."

"I'll try," I answered, "Just make sure he learned his lesson."

"I don't think his brothers will let him forget," Su announced, "Oh, my mother would adore you, you know…"

I sensed the footfalls of a familiar stride from my hand that rested on the packed soil, and I looked over my shoulder to find Lin walking towards us from one of the upper levels. I brought my knees up to my chest, and looped my arms around them to finish my fragile shield. "Thank you, Aunt Su," I murmured, and looked down at the ceaseless current of water.

"Aunt Su," she repeated warmly as she faintly shook her head, "Never thought I'd be called that…" She then walked away.

"Kailyn."

I glanced over my shoulder and saw my mother at the top of the last staircase. She had changed into the ensemble laid out for her since our first night in Zaofu. Already she looked so different- I did not know what to think of her without her harsh edges from the lines of her uniform. They embodied her, just as much as her skin. So what did this sudden transformation mean?

"Kailyn, I am going to talk, and you are going to listen." I felt that even though I knew it was supposed to be my mother, but she was a stranger before me still. She walked up to me, knelt down, and pried my hands away from my bent legs. She took them into her own, and rubbed her thumbs across their backs to get my attention. We both looked at the scars that mapped out unknown territories with silver skin. Despite my understanding, I still tensed beneath her touch. "I will not try to convince you to forget what happened the other night. For what I have done to you is unforgiveable. I am ashamed of that night more than you will ever know…Kailyn, look at me," she murmured in contrition, "You look at me."

"I am looking at you," I lied lamely.

"No, you're not."

I heeded her request, and saw her unshielded gaze. Her eyes were open- in a sense they never were before. I do not know what exactly I saw, but I knew that my mother felt it keenly.

"I made a promise that I would never act like Cassia- and I failed us. I'm supposed to look after you, and I behaved in a way unsuitable as your mother."

I made a voice of protest, and she beheld me with wide eyes. "You have kept your promise. A thousand times over," I assured her. I threw my arms around her and embraced her fiercely. "I'm sorry, Mum-" I whispered tremulously, and when my voice cracked I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face into the crook of her neck.

"You're the one who's sorry?!" Lin huffed, "Typical, Kailyn." She ran her hand down the back of my head. "Not as sorry as me," she muttered, "Never as sorry." I smiled against her neck, and held onto her tighter. "But I will not have you turning your cousins into rubble- it's not their fault they're easy pickings," Lin chided.

"Mum," I groaned.

"Doesn't matter that he deserved it either," she continued knowingly and smirked proudly.

"If I knew jabbing you with a ton of needles would put you in such a good mood- I would have done it my first week of living with you!" I teased, which earned a playful cuff from my mother.

"Do something like that- and I'll make sure all your clothes are replaced with pretty dresses like Opal's…"


	12. Chapter 12

"Everyone, if I could have your attention please. Tonight, my beautiful little girl leaves for the Northern Air Temple. Opal, none of us could be more proud of you. You're an incredible daughter, sister, friend, and soon to be airbending master," Su announced, and wrapped an arm around Opal as she kissed the side of her daughter's head, "Here's to Opal- may she help lead us into the new era!"

We all raised our glasses and drank to Su's toast. I took a half-hearted bite out of the veggie wrap as I continued to mull over a reoccurring thought. My mind was in the Fire Nation- on General Iroh…would he be worried since I had not written a reply? Or perhaps, he had forgotten about me- he surely had enough responsibilities to distract him…

"Kailyn, relax," Lin murmured coolly, "I don't know what has you on edge, but it can wait. Eat your dinner. Or at least refrain from upending the table."

"Sorry," I replied breathlessly, "My thoughts got away from me. When do we intend to depart?"

"First thing in the morning," my mother answered, "We've delayed long enough."

"Do you think Zaheer has discovered our location?"

"No, but I wouldn't underestimate him. Who knows where they are hiding since they left the North Pole," Lin explained softly, her eyes taking in the room around us.

"It's a shame you are to leave," Huan said to me idly, "It has been…most entertaining to have my brothers knocked about."

We shared a wry smile, and then I tucked into the rest of my plate. My mind wandered back to General Iroh, and from the look on my mother's face- she wanted to know what drew me into such a pensive mood.

Dinner ended without further ceremony, all of us breaking off and going our own separate ways. It was strange that I only just realised the keen, perplexing ache that hummed low in my chest at being unable to see the stars. The only light in the darkness was the gas or electric torches throughout the estate, and a brief spattering of lights at the crest of the dome. How could people live like that- unable to bask in the light of the stars?

My mind took me back to the memory of the _Night of a Thousand Suns_' premier…back to when General Iroh and I were nestled away from the chaos of the attempted kidnapping of President Raiko and his wife. I had looked like a Badgermole had drug me through its den, my dress willingly torn beyond repair and a bruise blossomed on my face; the Fire Nation Crown Prince on the otherhand, sat resplendent without a single hair out of place as he shared his coat and warmth with me.

I made my slow way back to the guest house Lin and I shared, and went to the study. I sat behind the grand desk and stared at the stationary laid out on its surface. How did one even know where to start? I took the fountain pen in hand, and then slowly began my missive.

_Dear General Iroh…_

I sat back in the chair when I finished the letter, and drew away from the desk. Once the ink had dried, I placed the letter into an envelope bearing _Prince-General Iroh II, Fire Nation Royal Palace_, and then padded out of the guest house. I nibbled on my bottom lip when I realised I had no inclination where to drop outgoing post, or where the postmaster was.

"Can I help you, Miss Beifong?" a guard asked me.

"Yes, actually," I laughed softly in relief, "I have a letter that needs to be sent to my friend, but I have no idea where to go so that it can be delivered…"

"I can deliver it for you if you find that agreeable."

"Oh no, I couldn't let you do that…don't you have to remain on your patrol route?"

"I'm sure it won't be any trouble at all," the guard assured me, and held his hand out for me to shake, "My name is Hong Li, it's a pleasure to meet you, miss."

I took the proffered hand, and replied with a smile, "Likewise, my name is Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong. If you're sure running doing me this great favour will not get you in trouble- then I will gratefully accept the offer. Thank you so much, Hong Li, this is so sweet of you." I chuckled inwardly when his cheeks flushed pink, and his eyes dropped hastily to the ground. I held out the missive for him to take, and gave him another bright smile as he went on his way. "Good night," I called after him, and then added nervously, "You won't…tell anyone about the letter, will you?"

"Your business is your own, you have my word," he assured me warmly, and trotted off.

I went back into the house, and slipped under the bedcovers.

"No!" I cried wildly, lurching upright in my bed. My chest burned from holding my breath in my fitful slumber for too long; my hair hung in front of my clammy face, shifting with each rough exhalation. I fell back onto the lush mattress with a tremulous breath with my back to the door. My heart beat so fiercely against its ribbed cage that it physically ached, and my lips were tugged into a frown when a few tears trickled along my temple. _You aren't a little girl anymore- don't feel._

"Kailyn, what's going on?" my mother asked faintly as she came into my room. She sat on the edge of my bed, and carded her fingers though my hair.

The gentle pull of my hair helped ease the pressing weight on my chest. "I went to the acupuncturist shortly after you did," I explained softly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I would be okay…but I can't sleep without seeing her."

Lin brushed my thick curtain of hair away, and then gently rubbed the back of my neck. "Do you…want to talk about it?" she inquired haltingly.

"I just want to forget," I whimpered tremulously, "I just want to forget her."

"Kailyn…" Lin pulled me along the bed until my head rested in her lap, my eyes looking up at hers, and then ran her thumb back and forth over the lines of my cheeks. "You are safe, and she won't ever hurt you again," she promised, "Not while I'm around."

"HELP! They've got Korra! THEY'VE GOT KORRA!" Bolin bellowed.


	13. Chapter 13

My mother and I shared a look, and then hurtled out of the house. Upon sprinting through the front door, I saw Korra slung over a man's shoulder, who was flanked by three others.

"Zaheer," Lin snarled, and launched into the fray.

One of the women, the taller of the two, unsettled me. Something in the way she carried herself, and the hum that vibrated the around her. A small patrol of Zaofu's security charged the group, but they did not get far. They corralled the criminals into a cage constructed of summoned metal plates from the ground.

"Release the Avatar," Kuvira, captain of the guard, demanded as the security closed in.

I sensed the long haired man moving about within the confines of their cage; he slammed a hand against the earth, which caused heat to reverberate through the soil. Lava oozed through the cracked soil, surrounding the caged criminals with a moat of lava, and caused Lin and the others to retreat.

"No way! That guy's a lavabender!" Bolin exclaimed, "How awesome…ly not good for us."

I slid behind the metal plate the others were using for cover, and settled near my mother as Su and the twins arrived.

"How did they get in here?!" Lin demanded.

"I don't know, but we're not letting them escape!" Su answered coolly.

More of Zaofu's security arrived; they attempted to use a metal bridge to get to Zaheer and his accomplices. Before the final piece could be added, the large woman turned, and as a peculiar expression flickered across her face the bridge and the officers were blasted away.

"There's no way to get across that moat," Asami concluded, eyes fixed on Korra's limp figure.

Su's gaze darted to the ceiling of the dome, and she explained, "We don't need to cross it. Lin and I could drop in from the dome on cables."

"That' a great idea," Lin said in earnest sarcasm, "Except we'll get blown up the second that third-eyed freak sees us."

"She's a combustion bender- if one of you can stun her- her powers will be knocked out temporarily."

"Bolin can land a shot," Mako announced.

"I can?!" Bolin squeaked.

"You have to take her out right before we drop down," Su ordered, and left with the twins.

"Kailyn," my mother began.

"Don't worry, Mum, he can do this," I assured her, and she ran after her sister.

"I do?" Bolin replied belatedly.

"You can do this," I murmured, and rose to my feet. I slammed a foot down, and summoned a boulder to me; I hurled it at the moat. Lava spat at the criminals, forcing the lavabender to shield his comrades. I erected a shield to buffer the waterbender's counterattack; I ducked further to avoid the ice scythe she hooked around my wall, and then dropped back behind the metal plate.

"_We're in position_," Wei announced on the radio.

"Copy that," Mako answered, and then said to his brother, "It's Bolin time."

"All right," Bolin said to himself, "Bolin time. Bolin time!" He rose to his feet and fired a boulder at the combustion bender, but she easily dodged the shot.

The criminals turned their full attention to us, leaving Mako and I to defend Bolin while he tried to get a clean shot.

"I can't get a clean shot!" Bolin panicked.

"You have to!" Mako countered, shooting out a whip of flame to evaporate the water slithering towards him.

"_Are we a go?_"

"No go!" Mako answered, just as the combustion bender blasted away the stone pillars behind us.

"_Copy that, we're a go._"

"I said no! Wait!"

My eyes snapped to the top of the dome where Su and my mother were dropping down. The combustion bender detected the flicker of shadows out of the outer field of her vision, and looked up. "No," I panted, and took several steps before catapulting across the moat. I dodged the waterbender's attack, and sent her sliding away.

"Kailyn! Bolin, take the shot!" Make yelled.

The lava bender charged me, and I made to flip over him by vaulting off his shoulders, but he caught one of my arms in mid-air. He slammed me against his unyielding back, still keeping a firm hold of my arm, and I felt my shoulder give out with a grinding _pop_. I screamed, and fell to the ground. The combustion bender's head snapped back suddenly, and the pillars directly behind the criminals exploded. The three fell to the ground just as Su and Lin touched down.

"Kailyn!" Su cried, and took me into her arms.

"Shoulder," I groaned, and felt my face blanch. I saw my mother get Korra, and then the four of us began to ascend.

"No!" Zaheer snarled, and took up pursuit on his commandeered glider.

"Kailyn, do you trust me?"

"Yes-"

"-Good." Su let me go.

I bit my lip to keep my scream from hurtling out. I fell through the air, and watched Su fire metal shards through Zaheer's glider. I head the metal cable whistled through the air, and tried to brace myself for its jolting grip. I cried out when the retracting drag jerked my shoulder. Su pulled me to her once more, and gave me a tense smile as an apology.

"Where did they go?" Lin wondered when we came up through the hatch.

"They can't be far!" Su remarked, and spoke into the receiver of the radio, "Guards, search the entire estate!"

"Kailyn," Lin murmured, and gave me a sharp glare, "What were you thinking?"

"That my mother can't get blown to pieces?" I groaned unconvincingly.

"If I could ground you…"

"Wei, Wing, fetch Aiwei and a healer," Su instructed, "Bring them to the house..."

"Mum, I feel-"

"-Catch her!" Su cried.

"…dislocated. Nothing severe, but the area was certainly aggravated."

"Maybe if my sister hadn't willingly dropped her," my mother noted darkly.

"It wasn't as if I truly wanted to, Lin," Su fretted, "You know that."

"Drop your own kid next time- you have five after all."

"Even when they are in agreement- they still quibble," I laughed hoarsely. I found myself on one of the sofa's in Su's study, and Korra occupied the other.

"Maybe next time you'll actually think before you do something stupid in the future," Lin fired with a stern look.

"Fair enough, but I seem fine now," I remarked, and slowly sat up, "What have I missed?"

"We think one of the guards helped Zaheer and the other into Zaofu," Korra explained.

"Question them all! Whoever betrayed my city will suffer the consequences!" Su snarled to Aiwei.

"To bed with you," my mother grunted knowingly.

"I don't want to be left behind," I protested.

"Wei, Wing, take your cousin to her guesthouse," Su instructed.

"You're the boss," Wei began.

"Come along, _dear cousin_," Wing finished.

"When I get better, you're both going to be sorry," I growled as they escorted me to the guesthouse. I was sore and tired, but I did not want to miss any of the interrogations. The twins paled at my threat, but did not shirk the assigned task.

"Sleep, please, or Mum-"

"- and Aunt Lin will turn us into rubble."

"You know, it's so confusing when you guys do that," I yawned, and slipped into bed.


	14. Chapter 14

I awoke to my mother slamming the door, and storming into my room. "Mum?" I mumbled sleepily. I slowly sat up, making sure to favour my injured shoulder, and regarded my exasperated mother.

"We caught the traitor," Lin snarled as she paced at the foot of my bed, "But he won't tell us anything."

"Who is it?"

"Some kid- only eighteen- name Hing La, or something."

My spine stiffened and I looked at Lin with wide eyes. "Hong Li?" I asked faintly.

My mother's eyes narrowed to suspicious slits, and her lips pursed. "How do you know him?" she demanded.

"Mum, he's not the one who helped those criminals in."

"And just how do you know that?"

"We have to talk with Su- I'll explain then," I dismissed, and hastily changed my clothes. As I pulled the tunic over my head, I grimaced at the foreign sensation in my shoulder. I staggered out of the bedroom with my mother not far behind.

"Kailyn, Kailyn! Will you slow down and tell me what's going on?!" my mother grunted.

I shook my head and kept up my brisk pace; Hong Li was innocent- he had to be. There was no way a young man like that could be tied with terrorists like Zaheer. I took the front steps leading up to Su's home two at a time, and opened the door without ceremony. "Su?" I called out.

"In the study!" she answered. She regarded me worriedly as I hurried inside with Lin in tow. "Kailyn, you shouldn't-" she began.

"-Hong Li is innocent!" I interjected, panting.

Su's eyes narrowed and her lips pursed, just as my mother did earlier. "That is impossible, Aiwei said he was lying. Not to mention he was not at his assigned post the night of the attack," she dismissed curtly.

"I know- I'm the reason he left his post," I announced, flinching when my mother's glare bore into me. If her gaze was a scythe, I would have cleaved like wheat. I clasped my hands in front me, and took a deep breath to collect my thoughts. _Solutions are not born from panic or exuberant verve, Kailyn._ "Hong Li was on patrol near our guesthouse- as you are aware- when I came out with a letter for Prince-General Iroh of the Fire Nation, but I was clueless as to where the postmaster was located," I explained, "Hong Li dutifully offered me his service, so I sent him on his way to see to delivering the letter."

"That still doesn't explain the evidence found in his flat," Su remarked coldly.

"Nor the fact that Aiwei said he lied in the first place," my mother added.

"I asked him to keep it between us. Hasn't it struck odd that Hong Li hasn't confessed? If he was guilty- he would know Aiwei would know- so why continue to plead innocent?" I countered.

"I doubt he finds the idea of prison attractive," my mother remarked, her face going pensive.

"You are willingly being blind to the possibility of Hong Li's innocence," I shot at Su.

"And you're blinded by some misplaced devotion!" Su snapped. She came around her desk, and placed her hand on my uninjured shoulder. "Kailyn, I'm sorry if you may have liked him-"

"-Don't turn my loyalty into something it is not!" I argued, and batted her hand off me. I glared reproachfully at her and continued, "I know he's innocent, and I will keep defending until you set aside _your_ misplaced devotion and _think_!"

"Su, I believe Kailyn."

"Not you, too, Lin-"

Even though my seismic sense was muffled by shoes, I still knew the tell-tale vibrations of an explosion. The three of us sprinted to the scene, discovering it was Aiwei's house.

"What happened? We heard an explosion," Lin demanded as Team Avatar came into view.

"Where's Aiwei?" Su added, taking in the rubble and debris in search of the truth seer.

"Your trusted advisor is the one who betrayed us. He was lying about the guard," Korra announced tensely.

"What?! No!"

"We confronted him and he bolted through here."

Lin brought her foot down and used seismic sense to get a layout of the tunnel. "He must have collapsed the tunnel behind him," she concluded.

"And he rigged an explosion to destroy any evidence that might have been here," Mako added.

"This is where Zaheer got in and out- Aiwei was the traitor," Korra said, shooting Su a sympathetic glance.

"I…trusted him," Su murmured.

"Is everyone okay?" Kuvira inquired as she hurried into the room.

"Aiwei is a fugitive. Get all available guards to search the mountainside, and find out where this tunnel exits immediately," Su ordered, and Kuvira left with a brief bow.

Lin walked over to her sister, whose head hung low, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. I came up to my aunt and pressed my brow against hers; I felt hers begin to quiver, and so I placed a calming kiss on her temple to cease her trembling.

"I am sorry," I spoke in earnest. I pulled away and regarded the two Beifong women wordlessly.

"Let's…Let's reconvene in my study to await Kuvira's report," Su mumbled, "And I will have Hong Li's release seen to."

"I hear you defended me most adamantly, Miss Beifong."

I looked up from the bending scroll I had borrowed from Su's study to see Hong Li standing before me. Carefully, I rolled up the aged parchment and smiled broadly up at the young man. "It was the least I could do- you know, when I said not to tell anyone…I didn't mean you had to lie to a Truth Seer for me," I remarked with a teasing, quirked brow.

Hong Li's cheeks flushed and he nervously cleared his throat. "I gave you my word, and my parents taught me never to break that- especially to a pretty woman according to Da."

This time, it was my face that flushed as I dropped my eyes down to my feet. They were bare and heavily dusted from mucking about; I would have to wash them thoroughly before it was time to retire or Asami would never let me hear the end of it. "Despite our excuses…thank you, again. You are loyal to a fault and that is by far not the worst characteristic to have," I explained, "And I am sorry for the effect Aiwei's deception had on you."

"Kailyn!" my mother called out.

"Kuvira must be back with her intel, I better go inside," I murmured.

"The man you wrote to…General Iroh- I hope he knows he is a lucky man."


	15. Chapter 15

My lips open and shut brokenly as I struggled to find words that were actually coherent. My cheeks burned hot, and I had to fight the urge to nervously shuffle my feet.

"Kailyn!" my mother barked, impatient.

I took the opportunity and dashed away from the young guard before I made an even larger fool out of myself.

"What did you find?" my mother asked Kuvira as the aforementioned and I entered Su's study.

"We located the end of the tunnel, but there's no sign of him. Just some fresh tire tracks," the captain explained, and left.

"He had an escape plan all ready to go," Mako mused darkly.

"I trusted him with my life-I thought we were family, but it was all a lie," Su thought aloud.

I took a seat beside her, and wrapped an arm around her. "That kind of betrayal cuts the deepest," I whispered to her as Mako said something further, my mind thinking back to when Hiroshi Sato played his hand, "But this betrayal will not define you- and it will heal in time."

"That's why we have to find them. We're going to hold off our search for airbenders and hunt down Aiwei. Naga can track his scent," Korra announced resolutely.

"And I bet if we find Aiwei, we'll find Zaheer," Asami concurred.

"No, we're not hunting this group. There could be other secret agents in other parts of the world looking for you right now! I'm taking you back to Republic City where I can protect you," Lin argued.

"If I wasn't safe here, then I'm not safe anywhere. I have to stop them!" Korra protested.

"It's too dangerous. You're not going!" my mother snapped.

"Stop trying to protect me- I'm the Avatar. This is my job!"

"Don't lecture me about jobs!" Lin growled, "I have plenty of them between you and Kailyn!"

"What my mother is trying to say is protecting you _is_ our job, Korra," I explained gently.

"Enough- Korra listen to Lin."

"But…they…"

"Please. Lin's only looking out for you," Su continued, "I promise you, Aiwei and everyone he's working with will be brought to justice."

"Fine, if you really think it's best," the Avatar acquiesced begrudgingly.

"I do."

"Thank you, Su," Lin said, not noticing me tense my shoulders. Su lied.

"Everyone should get some rest. I'll have my people prep your airship, and you can leave first thing in the morning," Su urged, deliberately avoiding my pressing gaze. She clearly had a plan.

"I'm going to bed," I lied.

"Good night, Kailyn."

I bit back my response and merely nodded my head, for I knew she would know something was up the more I kept talking. I silently packed away my few possessions, and fastened my metal cables to my person. I climbed onto the bed, and began to meditate. My mother would be furious when she found out- and I was certain I was going to get quite the speech when we came back. I waited until I heard Lin bend her uniform off her person before I even stirred from my perch. I softly paced the length of the room on the balls of my feet until I heard her settle in her slumber.

I lingered in front of my mother's room, and mumbled thickly, "I'm sorry, Mum." I trotted down the path to Korra and Asami's guesthouse; I paused on the landing of the front door when I heard Su.

"…what Lin wanted to hear," Su explained, "But unfortunately, I couldn't fool Kailyn- who should come inside."

My cheeks flushed, but I kept my head high as I walked into the house. Bolin looked surprised, Mako wary, and the girls looked relieved. "Hi," I greeted lamely.

"It looks like you're ready to go," Su remarked, "Excellent."

She walked with us to the outskirts of Zaofu, and as the others climbed into the vehicle and Korra mounted Naga- I pulled Su aside. "Tell her not to worry too much, and that we will be back as soon as we can," I requested.

"She'll be angry, but not for long. Kailyn, be careful out there," Su urged.

I embraced her fiercely, and then hopped into the jeep. Korra took the lead on Naga, and Asami trailed behind the polar bear dog. As Zaofu grew smaller, I cast one look at the metal city.

My mother was going to be furious.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Mako asked after a time.

"It's dangerous knowing so little about our hunters- it would be foolish not to get what information we can from Aiwei," I assured the firebender.

"What about Chief Beifong?" Asami inquired, glancing at me though the rearview mirror.

"She'll understand," I hoped, and then looked out at the mountains we raced past.

We drove through the night, and left the mountains for the desert. Spirits mingled about the few boulders providing respite from the harsh, sparse land.

"Aiwei has definitely been through here," Korra explained as Naga walked about with her nose to the ground, "Nice tracking, girl."

"Let's ask around. Maybe someone's seen him," Mako announced.

We left the jeep and Naga on an outcrop at the outskirts of the village. The settlement was sparsely populated- most of the people only seemed to be through.

"A tavern would be our best bet to gather information," I noted, "Tongues like to wag."

Mako took the lead, and pushed aside the curtain serving as the tavern's door. We slipped inside and immediately all eyes fell upon us. I tensed in instinctual reaction, and had to keep myself from activating my metal cables as a warning. Bolin looked around, and something on a wall caught his attention- it was a poster of him.

"Ohh, look! They have a mover poster of me," Bolin announced, and his brother regarded the poster in incredulous surprise. "Must be big Nuktuk fans- yeah, I should go say hello…" he continued, and started to walk towards the tavern occupants.

Mako grabbed hold of his brother by his sleeve to stop him. "No. Those are wanted posters- and there's one for each of us- minus Kailyn," Mako growled softly. He looked at Korra's poster and read, "'Wanted by Her Majesty, the Earth Queen, for crimes against the kingdom.'… I'm guessing this is because we took her airbenders."

"_Her_ airbenders?!" I spat, "They are people!"

Korra was in agreement. "They weren't hers to keep! I swear, if I see her pinchy little queen face again- I am going to…" the Avatar fumed.

"Uh, guys," Asami interjected insistently, and I looked at the people aroun us. Various patrons had their eyes fixed on us; one man drew his sword, and another flashed his spear. "We should get out of here," she finished.

We all made our wary departure, Korra and I were the last to leave. I geared my cables in warning, and the Avatar did a gesture I had seen my mother do many times. I smirked, and Korra glared at me.

"Don't you tell Beifong anything about that," she grumbled.

"I wouldn't dream of it," I teased, "She may have to admit she likes you then."

"She does?"

"My mother has a very strange manner of showing affection- the Toph way, according to Tenzin," I explained.

We left the village and returned to Naga. "We keep looking- he couldn't have gotten far," Korra urged, and jumped onto Naga's back. We followed Aiwei's trail up a narrow winding road; we were on the descent when Naga broke away to sniff at a cluster of rocks.

Korra slid off the polar bear dog, and the four of us got out of the jeep. "Something's behind those boulders," I announced, and Korra shifted the largest boulder aside. Aiwei's keep came into view in a small clearing behind the cloak of boulders. Naga nudged her head insistently against Korra. "Oh…Sorry, I forgot to bring treats," Korra explained sheepishly, and Naga whined. Korra affectionately rubbed the polar bear dog's face. "But good girl," she added lamely. Naga let out a keen whine and her tail slapped Korra across the face as she moped away. I clapped a hand over my mouth to stifle my laughter to muffled snorts.

"This must be Aiwei's jeep," Asami concluded, "He can't be far."

Mako walked away from the jeep to the edge of the slope to look out at the Misty Palms Oasis. "Bolin and I will investigate the Misty Palms Oasis, and see if he's holed up there," he explained.


	16. Chapter 16

"Yes!" Bolin cheered suddenly, "I love it when you talk like a cop."

"I'm coming too," Korra added.

"No- you, Asami, and Kailyn wait here in case he comes back. Besides, we don't want to call too much attention to ourselves," Mako dismissed.

"All right," Korra grumbled.

"Ooh, Mako, Mako, Mako! We should wear disguises- and pretend we're going undercover! That way," Bolin paused in his exuberant rambling to shield all but his eyes with his hands, "No one will recognise us. Haha, police work is so exciting!"

The disguises the earthbender had in mind were anything but innocuous. Bright yellow raincoats paired with equally intense green goggles; not only highly unorthodox for the dry desert air, but also eye catching from any distance. Asami, Korra, and I regarded them with askance, unconvinced looks.

"All right, now we need our undercover identities!" Bolin began, and told his false story, "I'm an ex-United Forces operative named Ting Ting. War was the only woman I ever loved, until Ivy came along and showed me what real love is. Tragically, she was taken from me by my archenemy, Dr. Razor, and-"

"-Enough!" Mako grunted, and started walking down the slope, "Let's just find Aiwei!"

"But I haven't even told you your backstory!" Bolin complained, aghast.

"I'm a cop. I don't have a backstory."

"Woah! You're good at this," Bolin quipped, and chased after his brother.

I waited until they were well out of hearing range before I made my remark. "Make sure I tell my mother about Mako's idea of undercover," I quipped lowly.

"It does need some work," Asami chuckled, in agreement, and settled in the shade of the jeep on the ground. Korra followed suite, and I took a seat in the sun.

"I heard you a rumour that you were convincing Su and Lin of Hong Li's innocence while we were searching Aiwei's place," Korra announced idly.

"He was out delivering a letter for me to the postmaster, that's why he wasn't at his post," I explained.

"Who were you writing to?" Asami inquired.

"General Iroh-" I began.

"-Why were you writing to him?" Korra interjected, grinning impishly.

"He- He wrote to me first," I stammered, "I got his letter just before we left to meet up with all of you in Ba Sing Se."

"What did he say?" Asami demanded eagerly as she leaned forward on her knees.

"Nothing of consequence, really…It seemed so out of the blue," I confessed.

"You like him."

I blushed fiercely at the Avatar's words. Not because they weren't true- it was just I did not have a full understanding on the subject at all. Asami and Korra shared grins, and looked at me expectantly. "I don't know," I supplied lamely, and watched the loose sand roll with the dry wind. The sun dipped lower into the sky, and there was no sign of Mako and Bolin's return. I rose to my feet and explained, "I am going to do some sleuthing of my own."

"Is that a good idea?" Korra murmured.

"My mother is chief of police- I've picked up a couple things," I assured her, and set off for the town.

I ducked into one of the better occupied taverns, grateful that there were no wanted posters up. I took a seat at the table whose only other occupant was a travel-worn man.

"Run along, little girl," he rasped, taking hold of his glass to throw back a liberal swig.

I subtly sent out one of my cables to wrap around the same hand's wrist and tightened the coils. "Think again," I chided lowly, and released his hand. I leaned back in the chair and slid my feet onto the table. Have you seen a Truth Seer around lately?" I inquired.

"Haven't left the bar," he chuckled, his foul breath hitting me in an abrupt wave.

"Doesn't mean you don't know what's going on," I dismissed. I folded my arms across my chest and added, "Don't patronise me. I know how men like you operate."

He mimicked my general posture and smirked at me down the crooked length of his nose. "Enlighten an old man," he rumbled softly.

"You act little more than a drunkard, but you know every going on in this seedy town. You strike me as a throat cutter- quiet and relatively clean," I spoke softly.

"Right you are, girl, name's Katuun."

"Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong," I returned.

"I might know something about a truth seer, but the liquor has shaken my memory." At that, he shot me a yellowed, crooked smile.

I rolled my eyes, and tossed several silver coins from my pocket at him. "I've heard silver does wonders for the memory," I drawled.

"Aye, girl," he chortled, "The man you're looking for has taken up in a hotel on the outskirts of town."

"Thank you, Katuun."

"Best be careful sneaking about- people don't take kindly to it."

"I can take care of myself just fine." I slipped out of the tavern, immediately taking note of the hooded figure leaning against the wall beside the doorway. I did not need seismic sense to know that he was after me. I ducked into narrow alleyways, slipped amongst the crowds of wide streets, and slipped up my father's cravat to cover my face. But he dogged after me still. I spun on my heel to face my pursuer when he cornered me.

"You are a slippery thing."

"Ghazan," I mused, and slipped into my horse stance.

A blade of ice chilled the sensitive skin of my throat, and a raspy voice crooned, "Don't try anything rash. Tell us where your friends are."

"Haven't seen them in hours. Sorry."

"Zaheer gave us a general location- we'll find them," Ghazan dismissed, and then snapped a heel out. A piercing light burst in my eyes, and my temple throbbed before I fell into darkness.

I awoke surrounded by metal, and for a panicked moment I believed myself to be under Amon's mercy once more. I rolled onto my feet, and my heart calmed when I saw that it was not the cage that trapped me years ago. I listened for the sounds of the prisoners around me, but I was met with silence. I jammed my fingers against the metal and took in my surroundings. The entire cell block was empty. I stood up and kicked the door off its hinges, and then slipped out of my cell.

The ceiling rumbled with hundreds upon possible thousands of people storming about the palace, and the vibrations caused my head to ache. I collected my cables that were foolishly left on a table, and then sprinted out of the dungeons.

The city of Ba Sing Se was in utter ruin- the palace was overrun with mindless pillagers. Dozens crashed into me, thoughtless to all but their greed born from their newfound freedom, before I managed to stagger out of the palace. Panic flooded the streets of the inner ring- its inhabitants shoved aside by the advantageous lower ring citisens. Glass shattered in morbid symphony, and the fires were lit.

"Stop it!" a young, fair voice whimpered.

"Give it to me!" a man bellowed.

The little girl struggled against the brutal grip on her arm, her other hand futilely trying to pry away the man's bruising fingers. Meanwhile, the man tried to get the finely crafted bracelet off her upper arm.

"Leave that girl alone!" I thundered, and sent my cables hissing towards him. They bit into his ankles and snatched his feet out from under him; I bent the earth up to fasten his hands and feet to the ground. "It's all right," I spoke tenderly, and held out my arms out to the trembling girl, "Let's get you home." She crashed into me with a tremulous wail, and I held her to me fast. "It's all right, I have you," I soothed, and rose to my feet. I let her settle on the small shelf of my hip, and drew away from the fray. "What's your name, sweetheart?" I asked softly, but was only given a vehement shake of her head in reply, "My name is Kailyn. Can you help me get you home?"

"People came into our house," she sobbed faintly, "A-And I couldn't find Mama."

"It's okay. We are going to find her- together," I assured the trembling girl, "Which way is your house- I bet you can remember?"

"That way," she mumbled, and pointed.

I wove through the hordes, mindful of not jostling the girl in my arms. Every so often, she would raise a hand to correct my course but remained resolutely silent. We came upon a grand house, whose front gates had been rammed in.

"My house- Mama," the girl sputtered, chest shuddering with sobs.

"She's going to be okay- take deep breaths for me."

"Caliope!"

_I knew that voice_.


	17. Chapter 17

"Mama!" the little girl, Caliope, cried out joyfully. Caliope slid out of my pliant, limp, arms and raced to _her_.

"My precious sweeting! Thank you- thank you!" She rushed up to me, and took hold of my hands.

I felt smaller than Caliope within her grasp, and my blood curdled and went cold. "Off," I mumbled thickly, my lips barely parted.

"I beg your pardon?"

I ripped out of her grasp, and coldly met her gaze. "Keep your hands off me!" I spat.

"Have we met?"

"Take a good look, Cassia."

Her face blanched and grew ashen- she remembered exactly who I was. Only this time, I wasn't the little bruised girl she left behind- trembling. "Oh- oh, Kailyn, look at you. You are so beau-"

"Shut up, you just shut up! Leave me alone- I want _nothing_ to do with you," I snarled, and the ground beneath my feet cracked. I wasn't the little girl she broke into obedience anymore- Lin built me up like a Beifong, able to survive and conquer anything. I turned on my heel and slowly began to walk away.

"Don't you walk away from me, girl!"

That was the monster I remembered- the one who demanded everything and gave only pain in repayment. The gears in my cables hissed as the gears haltingly turned; the lesser part of me wanted to lash out- to give her a sliver of the pain she gave me. Give her a scar for all the ones no one would ever see on me from her hand.

Lin stopped me. I pictured her taking me by the hand to calm the tempest that roared in my ears. Her peridot eyes would hold mine fast in her stern gaze, and she would make me be the better person.

My cables burst to life and wrapped around the street lamp; they carried me away from the monster that lurked within my past. I did not realise I was crying until my vision blurred, and the trails running down my cheeks chilled in the wind. I dropped next to a building that was being consumed by fire, and crumbled to my knees.

"Kailyn!"

My head snapped up and found Bolin peering down at me from a commandeered airship. I shot out a cable and let the airship lift me off the street. I clenched my hand and braced myself as I was pulled up into the cargo bay. I erased the tracks of tears that clung to my skin just before Bolin hauled me to my feet.

"Where have you been?!" he exclaimed.

"Trying to find a way out of this damned city," I murmured, "Sorry, Bolin, but I need to lie down." I trudged over to one of the long benches, and into curled myself into a ball facing the wall. If anyone saw my quivering, they said nothing nor did they approach me. I needed my mother- I needed Lin.

I was forced out of my listless slumber by the jarring impact Mako called landing. "I told you we should've woken up Kailyn!" Bolin announced.

"Grandma said she needed her rest," Mako grumbled.

I nursed my aching head, and wordlessly left the airship. I walked the Misty Palms Oasis and found Korra, Asami, Tonraq, Lord Zuko, and my mother waiting for me.

"Kailyn! We were worried!" Korra greeted.

I smiled pitifully at her before I looked at the two leaders of the Fire Nation and Water Tribes. I took a deep breath to collect myself and held my fist over my heart as I bowed. "Chief Tonraq, Lord Zuko," I spoke smoothly, and added to the latter, "I am Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong. It is an honour to meet you."

"Indeed you are, and likewise," the firebending master replied, and added wryly to Lin, "I see she hasn't inherited you and your mother's manners."

"Like her father," my mother explained, but her eyes narrowed tellingly upon me- she knew something was wrong.

Mako and Bolin took the lead of the conversation, and I slipped away to find reprieve in the nearby tavern whilst everyone's attention was engaged.

"You made it," Katuun remarked as I brushed past him. I said nothing and continued to the back of the establishment. I took a seat at a table shrouded in an alcove, and dropped my head so that it rested on the table's scuffed and scratched surface.

The back of my throat burned as I felt Lin's signature stride approach, and my breath hitched in my chest. I did not even last long enough for her to sit down or say a word. I lurched to my feet, knocking the chair off its legs with a clatter, and burrowed into her. My mother's harsh uniform never felt so great a balm. Hot tears rolled down my face without pause, and I finally let go. Her arms wrapped around my trembling frame, and she pressed her face into my tangled hair. Faint whimpers sounded behind my quivering lips, and Lin hummed briefly to calm me down.

"She was there- in Ba Sing Se," I mumbled brokenly, "Helped her daughter, my half-sister. I wanted to hurt Cassia."

"I know you did- but did you, Kailyn?"

"No. No."

My mother's arm tightened around me, and she tremulously let out the breath she had been holding in. "I am so proud of you," she whispered in earnest, "So proud. Come get some rest. No arguments- you can tell me everything after." She wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and guided me out of the tavern. She walked me over to the jeep she must have driven from Zaofu, and motioned for me to curl up in the spacious backseat. "I'll collect you when we have a plan of action," she mused, and carded a hand briefly through my hair.

"Excuse me, Lord Zuko?"

"Yes?"

"If you see your grandson…tell him- tell him not worry, I'll be all right…"

"Remind me of your name?" he requested smoothly.

"Kailyn, sir."

"Ah, yes. You do your mother proud- she's quite protective of you."

"It is mutual, sir," I remarked with a faint smile.

Lord Zuko mounted his dragon, and then looked down at me. If he thought anything about my request, it did not show. "If I see Iroh, I will pass along the message," he assured me. I bowed in thanks, and took a step away as the dragon crouched to then take to the sky. I remained outside until they were no more than a blot of black in the setting sun.

My mother's shoulders were set so rigidly, I feared they would break at the slightest prod. I silently reached out and gave her hand a squeeze. I knew exactly what was going on inside her head because the same thought flickered through my own. She was afraid; she was afraid of not being able to protect her best friend, whom she loved still. She was afraid she would fail.

"We can do it," I assured her faintly, and we rejoined the others. Not only was I going to keep Tenzin and the other airbenders safe, but I was going to look after the woman whose job was protect everyone else.


	18. Chapter 18

We were all gathered around the map. Su placed the airship figurine in front of the temple. "I say we make our approach from the west, drop down from the airship on cables- ambush these Red Lotus low-lives before they know what hit them," the matriarch announced.

"It will never work. That Combustion Lady will pick us off one by one," my mother dismissed smoothly.

"You have a better idea on how to save the airbenders?" Su sighed.

"Yeah. We come up from the valley, scale the side of the mountain, and take them offguard."

"That could work," Tonraq agreed.

"No," I argued softly.

"And give them the high ground?" Su countered incredulously, "No- if their lavabender spots us, he'll melt the mountainside and us with it!"

"Wait! I've got it! I'll disguise myself as a lost hiker, and once I'm in the temple- I'll distract the Red Lotus with my bird calls," Bolin announced, and made some…interesting interpretations of birds, "That's when you all strike!"

"Bird calls, really?" Mako scoffed.

"Well, I haven't noticed you offering any suggestions," Bolin argued.

"The Red Lotus know what you look like, Bolin, it wouldn't work anyway," I explained.

"It doesn't matter. None of these ideas will work," Korra announced, turning away from the window to face us. "The second Zaheer realizes we're up to something- he'll wipe out the airbenders," she finished.

"And Opal is one of those airbenders. Believe me, I understand what's at stake," Su remarked.

"Then I'll think you agree that the only plan that will work is for me to give myself up."

"What?" Mako demanded.

"Korra, no," my mother replied.

"We'll figure out another way," Tonraq added.

"I talked it over with Lord Zuko, and I've given it a lot of thought. I have to do this."

"You can't expect us to sit by and let Zaheer take you," Asami protested vehemently.

"The world has been out of balance for far too long- it needs the Air Nation back again."

Tonraq and Su exchanged glances, and then the former said to his daughter, "We're with you, Korra."

"Yes, whatever you need, they're here," Su added.

"I'll go radio Zaheer."

"Korra," I called out just before the Avatar entered the radio compartment of the airship, "You won't be standing alone." She smiled faintly in appreciation, and then ducked inside.

"Kailyn," my mother growled.

"I refuse to let any of my friends stand alone, Mum, and I don't care about the consequences that may follow. I will happily die for any of the people on this airship. My life is nothing in comparison to hers."

Lin took me by the arm and dragged me into an empty cabin, her peridot eyes blazing bright. "Don't you ever say something like that, do you understand?" she hissed in a whisper. She seized the back of my head and pressed our foreheads together. "Don't you ever," she repeated, voice stiff and tender, "I won't lose you, Kailyn, and I can't watch you die."

"Then I won't die," I supplied lamely, "I will be all right, Mum."

"…speak with Zaheer?" Tonraq asked Korra as we stepped into the room.

"Yes. He told me to come to the top of Laghima's Peak at noon, alone. Once he has me, he'll release the airbenders over to you at the temple."

"I think I figured out a way to play this so that the airbenders and Korra all come out in one piece," Su announced.

"How?" Lin urged.

"Zaheer doesn't know how many of us there are, so we have the numbers advantage. I say we split into two teams," Su explained, and placed the airship figurine on the temple. "Mako, Bolin, and Asami will take the airship up to the temple," she continued, and then added a Metal Clan to the equation, "Meanwhile- my metalbenders, Tonraq, Lin, and I will get into position below Laghima's Peak."

Lin held Team Avatar and me back after the airship landed at the roots of Laghima's Peak. My mother handed Korra a radio. "Radio the second you see those airbenders," she told Mako.

"I will, Chief. Good luck," the firebender replied.

"Kailyn, a word," my mother said over her shoulder. I came up from behind and waited for her to resume. "You do whatever it takes, understand? These Red Lotus members will not fight to cripple- so you fight to kill. Got it? And don't you dare perform any acts of misguided heroism."

"You too," I answered simply, and made my way over to Korra. "Will you be able to use your glider with the two of us?" I asked.

"Easily."

I awkwardly climbed onto the back of the glider, and when Korra was certain I had good hold she took to the sky. My eyes clamped shut on their own terrified volition, and my breath hitched in my chest. _Thank the spirits I was an earthbender_. Korra stopped on a ledge and radioed Mako. "Mako, do you see the airbenders?" she asked.

"_Not yet. We're just arriving. Don't turn yourself over until I get a visual on them._"

The Avatar turned to look at me, a sad smile on her face. "Thank you for being here, Kailyn, are you ready?"

I wordlessly nodded my head, and climbed back onto Korra's glider. I calmed my thundering heart as the gap between the peak and us grew shorter; I did not know what we would find awaiting us on the peak, but I had a promise to keep.

Zaheer and the combustion bender were standing together at the crest of Laghima's Peak.

"I told you to come alone," Zaheer called out.

"I'm insurance," I replied swiftly, "Leverage, if you will."

Korra flashed me an appreciative glance while the combustion bender spoke softly into Zaheer's ear. The airbender grew smug, and mused, "I did not think Lin Beifong would allow her own daughter to be handed over as well."

"It's not about allowance, it's about acceptance."

"Drop your staff and surrender yourself," Zaheer ordered Korra, and when Korra made no move to heed he added darkly, "Don't make me come get you."

Korra remained defiantly in place and took her radio's receiver in hand. "Mako, what's going on?" she asked lowly.

"_They're here- but so is the lavabender._"

"Tell Ghazan to let the airbenders go," Korra growled.

"Not until you turn yourselves over. This isn't a negotiation." Zaheer took hold of his own radio and said, "Wipe them out!"

"No! Wait- we're coming," Korra protested.

"Stand down," Zaheer amended into the receiver, and the combustion bender walked down to us.

We met the woman halfway; Korra dropped her staff and the radio with a dull thud. The combustion bender cuffed the Avatar's wrists and ankles with a connected series of manacles. "Don't bother trying to metalbend out of these- they're platinum," the combustion bender boasted. She regarded me coldly when I fell into step beside Korra without protest.

"We have her," Zaheer announced into the receiver.

We were nearly to the airship- to be taken spirits know where, and my head was going to hammer out of my chest. "_Korra, it was a trick! They're not here. Don't turn yourself over!_" Mako cried.

"We had a deal!" Korra growled, and briefly struggled with her restraints before launching herself into the air. She shot a jet of air out of her feet and separated Zaheer and the woman. I slid into my horse stance, and snapped up a knee; the large woman was pushed further away, and her gaze snapped to me.

Our reinforcements ascended the mountainside just as Korra launched an attack of fire and earth upon Zaheer, the latter dodging them all. Zaheer countered as Korra struggled to find her foot with the thin allowance of chain between her ankles. He lifted her off her feet, and then then slammed her to the ground.

"Get the Avatar on the airship! I'll deal with them!" the woman cried, and sprinted towards the metalbenders.

I fired a boulder at Zaheer, intending to hit him on the side, but the airbender pushed it away. I launched into a sprint towards him- if I could get close enough, maybe I could use the advantage of my smaller frame. Zaheer sensed me coming- I was a metre away from him when he struck- he sent me tumbling backwards across the peak's top.

I crashed against a large boulder as I blindly sought to bring myself to a halt, groaning in a breathless rasp. I started to get to my feet when someone hastened the process by hauling me to my feet.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Before my mother could continue, Su vaulted into an elongated hand off, and rolled behind the boulder to join us, as she evaded the combustion beams. "We're pinned down," she announced tersely.

My mother's features set into a look I had come to loathe- even though I only beheld it once before. I started vehemently shaking my head at her. "I'm gonna draw her fire- you take her out," my mother ordered grimly.

"Lin. No."

"Mum-" I began.

Another attack from the combustion bender cut me off, and we raised our arms to shield our heads. My mother cupped Su's cheek before doing the same to both sides of my face. "You look after her, Su," she murmured tenderly, not taking her eyes off my frightened face, "I love you both." She turned and ran from the crumbling boulder; my mother leapt onto the rising terrain. "Come and get me, you third-eyed freak!" she challenged.

My mother jumped up the slope to dodge the first combustion beam. After dodging, she retaliated with a slab of earth. The large woman destroyed the slab with ease; Lin sent two more in its place. The combustion bender leapt into a handless cartwheel to evade the first, and then snapped back for the second.

The combustion bender shot two beams at Lin, who escaped the first and then summoned a wall to absorb the second. I fought against Su as I watched the beam ripple through the air. My mother' shield wouldn't be enough.

"Let me go!" I screamed, "Su! Let- me- go!"

"I can't!"

My mother hurtled through the air as her shield splintered and shattered; she hit the unyielding earth, her armour denting and groaning in protest. She slid along the ground, and came to a stop at the lip of the peak's edge.

"She needs me! She's can't do this to me again!" I shoved Su away from me, and I hurtled to my mother. I fell between the combustion bender and her prey; I held up my hands in beseechment, only then noticing they were heavily bleeding. "Wait!" I pleaded tremulously, "She's all I have. Please."

I saw the rolling muscles coil throughout the woman's body, and I knew. I looked at my mother over my shoulder, eyes calm and resigned. "Mum," I urged tremulously, "Mum, look at me. You look at me. I love you-"

My mother's echoing cry of my name was the only sound I heard before I was blasted off the peak.

'_The measure of true love comes down to what you are prepared to give up for it, Kailyn.'_


	19. Chapter 19

I awoke to a pain in my head that made white spots flash and flicker in my tunneled vision, and to being dragged along the ground by the collar of my tunic. I clenched my teeth in a grimace, biting the inside of my cheek, and ripped the hairpin-cum-knife out of my hair. My back screamed in protest as I heaved my torso upright, and pulled the Red Lotus member over by the handful of his shirt in my hand. My legs burned before going suddenly cold just as I slipped the blade into the sliver of skin exposed between the collar of his shirt and the lip of his helmet. He rasped wetly, I felt his blood speckle my blanched face, and he beheld me with wild eyes… But soon, those eyes grew dim, and he slumped limply to the ground.

Panic and fear flooded my mind when the body fell over mine. I tried to shove away from the corpse, but my hands scuffed feebly against his chest and hip. Footsteps hurried down the corridor, and my head sluggishly beheld another group of guards pour into the narrow hallway.

"Get her locked up!" one bellowed, and I felt another's ironclad boot connect with the tender underside of my jaw. I fell into the blackness once more.

When I awoke this time, I felt the cold voiceless platinum against my back and a sour tasting gag in my mouth. My only source of light was a flickering lantern on the far wall, and there was no sign of anyone else. Silent tears trickled down my face as my tight throat burned. So this was how my life was to be…or how it would soon be ended…trapped more than a caged bird.

I heard the muffled rumble of someone earthbending, and then raised voices. Then I heard metal boots connecting with the ground. I knew those footsteps.

_**Mum.**_

"Chief…Lil Beifong," Bumi wheezed, pausing to cough feebly, "She- that way."

Her footsteps faltered, and I heard the sound of steel scraping against the hard rock. "The girl who had this knife- where is she?!" my mother roared, "Where is my daughter?!"

I tried to call out past my gag, but only faint whimpers slid through the heavy air around me. I strained against the manacles that held me to the slab of platinum but they would not yield.

A doorway burst open to my left. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw her standing there. "Kailyn!" my mother cried out, and rushed to me. Her warm fingers wrenched away my gag, and then cupped the side of my face as my chest started to shudder. "Bring me the key!" she shouted over her shoulder, causing me to wine as my head throbbed in full force. "I thought you were dead," she explained in a pained whisper, "I saw you fall- my cable missed-"

"-Mum," I mumbled.

"Sh," she urged, "Don't strain. What hurts?"

"Head," I panted, "Can't- I can't feel my legs."

"Chief," Mako murmured, "The keys."

My mother wasted no time unlocking the manacles that already chaffed my skin, and her brow furrowed when I made no move to get off the slab. "Kailyn?" she pressed. I whimpered as her hand came to rest between my throbbing shoulder blades. Everything within me felt on fire.

"Legs," I grunted, "My legs."

"Chief, I can take her."

"No," Lin snapped, "Go help the others. I have her." My mother took me into her arms and held me fast. She smelled sweat and sulfur, but the faint traces of her simple soap lingered. She brushed her lips against my viscid brow, and then headed for the mouth of the tunnel. "Hang in there, Kailyn."

My vision swam; my head felt unbearably heavy one moment, and then the next unfathomable light. "Mum," I panted. My head spun, and my body went slack.

Before I opened my eyes, I knew I was home. I was back home, back in my own bed. A clumsy smile curled my lips as I cracked open an eye. Everything had stayed the same; the jacket borrowed from Asami was draped over the back of my armchair, and the torn dress I had worn to the Nuktuk finale hung from my open wardrobe. My brow furrowed when I did not see my mother to my immediate right.

My confusion was swiftly allayed when I heard a soft, deep breath behind me. I stole a glance over my shoulder, and saw my mother sleeping fitfully in her study's chair on my bed's left side. I stiffly rolled over, grimacing, and reached out to take hold of her hand.

"You're awake," she slurred, and took hold of my halted, outstretched hand. She looked at me, taking all the time in the world to regard my haggard visage.

"…diagnosis?" I asked brokenly.

"Finally managed to crack that thick head of yours, dislocated your right shoulder, tore some ligaments in your legs, too," Lin rattled off flatly, "Bruised every inch of skin and bone that wasn't broken already."

"Lucky for me, my mum built me Beifong tough," I remarked faintly.

"I would punch you, but I will hold off for obvious reasons," she grumbled, "You had a visitor- quite a lot."

"Why do you act as though it wasn't one of our friends?" I pressed.

"Because it is the same visitor who brought you those," she grunted, and jabbed a finger at the foot of my bed.

Fire peonies. The blossoms' scent seemed to strengthen and take hold of my senses, as if knowing I was finally aware of their existence. I wanted to rise from my bed and take hold of the velvet array of petals that gleamed. The edges of each petal were delicately lined in burning gold, and possessed flickers of blue when caught in the light. Each gentle furl and curl embodied the fire's flame. A small card rested at the base of the rare blossoms' vase.

I parted my lips to voice my question. "One for every time he thought of you- or was reminded that you told him not to worry," my mother rattled off flatly, clearly ill at the romanticism.

"Iroh," I noted softly, "He came back to the city?"

"The same day we did," Lin explained in typical manner, "I sent him off. You need your rest- which you won't get with him hovering."

"Mum," I yawned in annoyance, and nestled into my pillow, "Be nice, or at least tolerate him."

"Go back to sleep, Kailyn," my mother urged, not that I needed much instruction.

"Lin, I would like a moment alone with Kailyn," Su announced.

My mother looked up from her vigil at my bedside to regard her sister. They shared a look, and Lin rose to her feet with a grumble. "Don't stress her out- she's doing that just fine on her own," my mother grunted, and stepped out of the room.

"Did you find out what happened after P'Li blasted me off Laghima's Peak?" I asked softly.

"Taking a look at the commandeered airship, you landed on the top of the ship and would have been fine were it not for the platinum framework…you hit your head very hard," Su explained, and a thoughtful look fell across her face. "Kailyn, can I ask you a question?" she inquired faintly.

"You already have."

"What did you mean by 'she can't do this to me again'?"

I threaded my fingers together on my lap, and sighed gently. "It's a story Lin and I prefer to be left unheard," I began, "What I meant that day- and of the time we spoke in your office- was when Lin sacrificed herself in order to save the ones she loves. It was when Amon had overthrown the city council and had total control of the city, so we went with Tenzin to protect his family…to get them into hiding.

"The Equalist airships were gaining on us. Lin made the choice to leave- to fight those monsters- to keep us safe. She sacrificed her bending, all that she is, so that we could get away. I couldn't let her do it second time, Su, she's all I have."

"You're all she's got, too, you know," Su mused, "You weren't there to see Lin lock herself away from feeling anything when we thought P'Li killed you. If I hadn't killed her, Lin would have avenged you tenfold. She acted fine, but I know her well enough to know that she was lost. You're her daughter, Kailyn, and she failed to protect you. I know that pain."

I wiped away the tears that clung in the corners of my eyes, and smiled tremulously at my aunt. My mother strode into my room, her face projecting her annoyance. "Mum?" I pressed, brow furrowed.

"Your…ahem, _visitor_ has arrived- again," she announced curtly.

"We'll give you your privacy!" Su quipped, and threaded her arm through my mother's to haul her out of the bedroom, "She's all yours, Iroh."


	20. Chapter 20

"I look ridiculous," I fretted.

"Don't feel that way for a second- and if Prince Charming even hints at it, you tell me. I have wanted to get some target practice in," my mother informed me, her peridot eyes simmering in affirmation.

"I haven't been out of the house…" I trailed off.

"As much as I dislike the idea of you out on a date, I think this will do you some good. Just don't overdo it, and don't be afraid to hurt his feelings if he starts to act fresh."

"Mum," I groaned, but laughed nonetheless. I fiddled with the intricate plait Su had set my hair into and smile when I caught a whiff of the fire peony nestled at the pinnacle of the braid. My mother had helped me into a pair of long, metal encased boots to give my ankles the necessary support.

"And don't be ashamed if you need to sit down. The healer said-"

"I know what he said, I was there," I interjected tenderly.

"Don't lecture me about jobs- that's Korra's job, and I know you're an adult- but I am still going to look out for you," my mother grumbled, and then pulled me to my feet, "And you make this job difficult enough sometimes…"

"Mum…" I began, nibbling on my bottom lip as I lowered my eyes for a moment, "Were you- Were you this nervous your first date with Tenzin?"

"It was Tenzin's job to be the sensitive one," my mother remarked, and she took on this look. Wistful, and gentle, as she was drawn back into an untold memory of when she was involved with the airbender. She looked…soft- approachable. Her spine straightened and she blinked rapidly to clear her head. "Back by midnight- or I am sending an APB," she warned. She rose to her feet and went towards the kitchen, but she paused in the doorway. "I was nervous," she confessed faintly that I almost did not hear her, "But take that as a good thing."

I felt so childish waiting on the sofa for Iroh to arrive at my home; my mind was too adrift to read, and my body too on edge to sit in reflection. My mother was in the gym- pounding away at the dummy I imagined she envisioned as the prince-general of the Fire Nation. Was I not passed the age of being nervous for a date? Granted, I had not been on one before, but I was an adult. That had to mean that I bypassed all adolescent awkwardness? Clearly, that was not the case.

My heart leapt into my throat when the knock finally sounded against the other side of the door. "Coming," I called out, voice slightly tremulous to my chagrin, and I stiffly rose to my feet. I eyed the cane that waited for me against the narrow table by the door; I thought I had tucked it away to escape my mother's notice, but clearly she anticipated that strategy. I opened the door with a stupid, breathless smile- which only grew larger when Iroh was already grinning himself.

"Hello," he greeted me.

"Good evening," I replied.

"Are you ready to go? I thought we could go for dinner first- if that is agreeable…"

I happily nodded my head and made to close the door behind me when I caught a glimpse of my mother standing in the hallway. Her arms were folded neatly across her chest and she eyed me sternly.

"Kailyn, aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh, right…" I answered lamely, and took the cane into my hand. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment when Iroh's gaze fell upon the aforementioned. I heard my mother's breath hitch as she prepared to growl a scathing remark at the man, but then Iroh's hand fell over mine.

"What you did for those you care about is nothing to be ashamed of…even the consequences are something to be proud of," he murmured soothingly, and gave the back of my hand a gentle squeeze. "Are you ready?"

"Yes…and thank you…"

"Are you sure you are up to this?" my mother asked for what I was certain was the thirteenth time.

"Not only is this Jinora's special day, but a historic one. I am not going to miss it," I reaffirmed. I fastened the gold bracelet around my wrist, and then carefully fastened a fire peony into the ornate bun at the nape of my neck. "How do I look? Fit for the occasion?" I asked lightly.

"Like you're appealing to a certain Fire Nation prince," my mother grumbled.

"Lin, lighten up! I think it's wonderful," Su announced as she came into my bedroom. "You look beautiful, Kailyn," she added warmly.

My mother hovered the entire short distance I wobbled to the car, going so far as to stiffly open the door for me. I slowly settled into the seat, aware of the dull throb in my left hip. We drove through the city in a gentle silence, Lin's eyes darting to look at me periodically. I reached over and threaded our fingers together, and I saw my mother's brow relax.

"Mum, I love you."

That had the opposite effect I desired. Her entire body became as rigid as her uniform, and her hand squeezed mine too tightly. She looked anything but at ease. She knew my unvoiced question, and so she curtly answered, "Thought those were going to be your last words."

"Mum, I am so-"

"-Don't you ever be sorry, Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong," my mother growled. She looked at me again, and I saw a small smile curl her tense lips. Su reached forward from the backseat to give our shoulders a squeeze.

I rested my head on my mother's shoulder as the ferry carried us across Yue Bay to Air Temple Island. It was a careful weight, but Lin rested her cheek on the crown of my head nonetheless.

It nearly evaded me, but I caught her faint murmur of, "I love you, too."

Lin went with Asami, Korra, and two of the airbender kids- earthbending the Avatar up to the temple.

"Who's to protect us when she's in a wheelchair?" President Raiko wondered ignorantly.

"How about you think for a moment, and realise that it's time to start doing your duty to this city?" I demanded coldly, and met the astonished man's gaze. I held my high as he regarded my battered personage, and smoothly added, "Korra has done more with the nail of her tiniest finger than you have your entire term. We all have a duty to our people, sir, and it is time you accept that being president is more that being a front."

"Well said," Senna, Korra's mother, praised.

"And that, grandfather, if you haven't already concluded is Kailyn Hsiao-Beifong."

"Iroh," I greeted warmly, and embraced his as best I could. I dipped my head to Lord Zuko and said softly, "Hello again, Lord Zuko."

"I've learned quite a bit more about you from my grandson after passing on your message," the latter explained wryly.

"Have you?" I inquired worriedly, glancing up at Iroh.

"You may have been mentioned…on occasion," Iroh admitted.

"Quite a fair amount past 'on occasion'," Lord Zuko teased, and Iroh's cheeks actually tinged pink. "But it is not hard to see why… you are a force to be reckoned with- as are all the women in your family."

"Th-Thank you, Lord Zuko," I said in turn, and once again bowed. Only this time, my head grew incredibly light headed when I straightened. "Iroh," I warned, blindly latching onto his arm as I felt my face blanch.

"Kailyn?" Iroh murmured.

"Light headed- very light headed," I panted, and let out a faint gasp when my knocking knees gave out.

Iroh hooked an arm around the front of my waist, and lifted me onto his back. "Are you all right, now?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Th-Thank you," I murmured, and threaded my arms loosely around his neck.

He carried me smoothly up the steep stairs and into the temple. Upon passing over the threshold, my senses were filled with the smoky haze of sandalwood. Several faces amongst the attendees peered up at me curiously, and I gave them polite smiles. Iroh went to my mother's side, and slowly set me back on my feet.

"Kailyn?" Su pressed faintly.

"Just a little lightheaded," I explained, "Thankfully, Iroh looked after me."

"How chivalrous," my mother mused, eying the firebender with a quirked brow.

Iroh met her penetrating gaze levelly, and took hold of my hand. I smiled brightly at him, and felt the start of something wonderful spark in my chest.

_**Fin.**_


End file.
